Hillsborough Law
The deaths of 97 innocent people, due to police failings at Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989, and the subsequent attempts to evade accountability by those responsible, are terrible stains on British history. I believe the families who lost loved ones have shown inspiring determination to get justice and drive meaningful change.
I very much welcome that the Government published the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – the Hillsborough Law – on 16 September. Decades long campaigning by brave, bereaved families has resulted in landmark legislation holding public officials and authorities accountable for their actions. I believe this will finally close the chapter on one of our darkest days.
Learning lessons from devastating disasters and scandals, including Hillsborough, Orgreave, Windrush, the infected blood scandal and Grenfell, the Hillsborough Law will once and for all end the culture of cover-ups and hiding the truth, ensuring transparency, accountability, and support for bereaved families. The Bill will introduce seismic changes, ensuring tragic injustices of the past and institutional failures are never repeated.
The duty of candour in the Bill will place a legal duty on public authorities to tell the truth, fix mistakes, and take accountability for failures. This is about changing our culture to prevent future cover-ups and ensure that those affected by state failure get the answers they deserve.
I welcome the measures in the Bill to better support families at inquests and ensure the focus remains on establishing the facts to deliver justice for victims. In the largest expansion to legal aid in a decade, bereaved families will have publicly funded legal representation at inquests, with the costs covered by the public body represented.
A legal duty will also be placed on public bodies to stop the state from hiding behind unjustifiably large legal teams at inquests, making sure both sides are on an equal footing. Clear expectations will be established on how state bodies and their representatives should participate at inquests. This will ensure the state conducts itself with openness and honesty, with the sole purpose of helping the coroner establish the facts to deliver answers for victims and their families.
My thoughts remain with those affected by the Hillsborough disaster and I want to see them get the changes they deserve. That is why I am proud to support this Bill – in full – as it goes through Parliament.