Sir Keir Starmer will end his time in office without passing the flagship Hillsborough Law – as ministers wrangle with spies over the disclosure of secret evidence.
Officials said hopes were fading that Starmer can get the bill over the line before leaving office in the coming weeks, raising the prospect of Andy Burnham taking forward the legislation – and political credit – instead.
The Public Authority (Accountability) Bill was due to be passed in April last year – on the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool FC fans were killed. Another victim died in 2021 as a result of his injuries.
However, the bill was paused due to a backlash over proposed exemptions for intelligence services.
The policy aims to create a new professional and legal “duty of candour” – meaning public officials must always act with honesty and integrity – with criminal sanctions for egregious breaches.
But The i Paper understands ministers and agencies are still locked in discussions over whether the bill would keep existing legal protections for sensitive material. There are also fears that intelligence officers could be taken away from frontline duties and tied up in paperwork relating to public inquiries, making the nation less safe.
Additionally, there are concerns that if material shared by overseas intelligence agencies were disclosed under the act, foreign partners might not share information with the UK in the future.
Hillsborough survivor Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, has called on the Prime Minister to pass his flagship bill before leaving office in the coming weeks – as Starmer promised in Labour’s 2024 manifesto.
Byrne has tabled an amendment to avoid what he describes as “carve-outs” in the law, and has called on the Prime Minister to ensure the legislation is passed in its intended form.
Paula Barker, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, told The i Paper she had recently met victims’ minister Catherine Atkinson, “who has assured me that we are 99 per cent there” with the law.
“The Prime Minister promised to deliver the Hillsborough Law in full. So, it is deeply disappointing that over two years since we are still here having to wrangle with the Government to fulfil that promise,” she said.
“The Government must adopt Ian Byrne’s amendment and deliver the Hillsborough Law in full. No ifs, no buts, and no more delays.
“Any watering down of the bill would be a betrayal of the 97 people unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, their families and loved ones, as well as the many other victims of tragedies where the state has had a hand in the devastation they faced.
“As Merseyside MPs we will not accept or vote for anything that the families don’t accept.”
But with Starmer’s time as Prime Minister quickly drawing to a close, and Burnham looking likely to replace him, it could be that the PM-to-be closes the door on the long-awaited policy.
This would be a full-circle moment for Burnham’s campaign to seek justice for the victims of the disaster, which took place on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, just before kick-off at the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Victims were caught in a crush on the terraces inside after an exit gate was opened in an attempt to reduce overcrowding outside.
Families disputed inquest verdicts of “accidental death” and fought to have the case re-opened, saying fans had been wrongly blamed.
In 2009, as culture secretary, Burnham paid his respects on behalf of the Government at the 20th anniversary of the tragedy at a memorial in Anfield, Liverpool. Here, Liverpool fans had chanted “Justice for the 96”.
The next day, Burnham had raised the issue of accountability at a meeting of Gordon Brown’s Cabinet – and had vowed to keep campaigning until it was resolved.
It was 27 years after the disaster that a court finally ruled that those who died were unlawfully killed – and that those caught in the crush had no responsibility for causing it. These were the findings of the second set of Hillsborough inquests, which were published in April 2016.
A year later, in March 2017, the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill was presented to Parliament with cross-party sponsorship, including that of then-MP Burnham.
However, plans were derailed by that year’s general election, and subsequent governments chose not to reintroduce the legislation. That is, until 2024, when Starmer promised to pass it by April 2025.
There is now a possibility that the law will be introduced under his successor instead.
No 10 and the Ministry of Justice declined to comment.
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