UK Parliament pursuing Hillsborough Law

Image: Kair Starmer (Facebook)

The U.K. Parliament will introduce a ‘Hillsborough Law’ before the next anniversary of the 1989 football stadium tragedy, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed.

The BBC said the Prime Minister announced that the legislation would force public bodies to co-operate with investigations into major disasters or potentially face criminal sanctions. It will be in progress before April 2025.

A terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989 resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

Hillsborough Stadium is a 39,732-capacity association football stadium located in Owlerton, a North-Western suburb of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England (UK). It has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. since its opening in 1899.

Parliament said the terrible suffering of the families of the 97 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster was compounded by a protracted failure over the following decades to uncover and acknowledge the truth of what happened and the mistakes made, and to start to apply some of the lessons learnt.

The Review of the Hillsborough disaster conducted by Bishop James Jones in 2017, and work by the campaign group Hillsborough Law Now, together resulted in a series of proposals designed to alter the way in which official inquiries into major incidents are approached and conducted.

Their proposals were: the creation of a statutory duty of candour applicable to all public authorities; guaranteed funding for legal representation at inquests and inquiries for bereaved families; and the creation of an independent public advocate, with a remit to step in immediately after a disaster and to support, and give voice to, those affected.

The new Hillsborough Law will introduce this legal duty of candour on public bodies. Officials or organisations that mislead or obstruct investigations could potentially face criminal sanctions.

Sir Keir is honouring a commitment he made during a speech in Liverpool two years ago.

He said: “That was when I promised, on this stage, that if I ever had the privilege to serve our country as prime minister, one of my first acts would be to bring in a Hillsborough Law – a duty of candour.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who was instrumental in getting the Gordon Brown Labour government to set up the Hillsborough independent panel, said, “It says something about the measure of [Keir Starmer] that he is coming straight back to deliver on the commitment to the Hillsborough families and others.”

He said the law was not about solely about “the injustice of Hillsborough, it’s about future cover-ups… and active cover-ups”.

Burnham added that he believed the changes the law would bring could make a huge difference to the veterans affected by being forced to witness nuclear bomb testing in the 1950s whom he said he firmly believed were victims of a Ministry of Defence cover-up.

An independent public advocate (IPA) would be sent to the scene of any future public disaster, playing a pivotal role in ensuring victims, survivors, and bereaved families get the information and support they need.

The advocate is expected to be in post by next summer. They would inform victims about sources of support, legal advice and services available to them.

The role would also help victims understand actions taken by public authorities in relation to the incident, including how to navigate inquiries, inquests and other formal processes that may follow a public disaster.

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