The Prime Minister has affirmed that the forthcoming Hillsborough Law will encompass a legal duty of candour, addressing concerns that the government intended to diminish its scope.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer assured the House of Commons of his “fully committed” stance on enacting legislation that would mandate public officials to provide truthful testimony during major inquiries, including “criminal sanctions for those that refuse to comply.”
Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne has launched a renewed parliamentary effort to advance the original Hillsborough Law, amidst suggestions that the duty of candour component had been omitted from a draft of the bill.
However, Sir Keir maintained: “We will bring this forward – I just want to take the time to get it right.”
The 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium witnessed a terrace crush that tragically claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool supporters.
Labour MP Byrne, who was 16 years old at the time, was present at the stadium that day.
He stated: “The law cannot bring back the 97, it cannot erase the decades of pain, nor undo the trauma inflicted by callous lies and institutional neglect.”
“But it can stop this from ever happening again – it can give truth, a fight for justice, and restore some of the faith lost, not just in the system but in the very idea of justice.”
He urged Sir Keir to not “let this moment slip away” and to “honour the 97, not just with remembrance, but with change.”
In 2016, following a 27-year campaign by the victims’ families, an inquest jury determined that the fans were not responsible for the disaster and that the deceased had been unlawfully killed.
The original Hillsborough Law, initially proposed in 2017, included a legal obligation for public servants to be truthful in the aftermath of state-related disasters.
It also stipulated that legal funding would be provided to those affected.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Kim Johnson, another Labour MP representing Liverpool, accused ministers of planning to present a “watered down” bill that “doesn’t deserve to be named Hillsborough Law.”
The Liverpool Riverside MP stated that Sir Keir had visited her constituency in 2022 and assured families that the legislation would be among his first acts upon assuming government.
She asked him to “honour his promise and back the law in full.”
In response, the Prime Minister stated: “This is a really serious issue, it is important that we get it right.”
“I am fully committed to introducing a Hillsborough Law, including a legal duty of candour for public servants and criminal sanctions for those that refuse to comply.”
Sir Keir said he had been “personally engaging” on the subject and stressed that he had been involved for more than 10 years due to his previous role as director of public prosecutions.
“We will bring this forward,” he added. “I just want to take the time to get it right and then put it before the house.”
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