Hillsborough Law should not be watered down, David Lammy warns MPs forward of vote
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has said the Hillsborough Law ‘must remain in its current, strong form’ and ensure injustice ‘has nowhere to hide’ ahead of a crunch vote in the Commons
MPs must not attempt to water down the Hillsborough Bill and ensure it becomes law as “quickly as possible”, David Lammy has warned.
The Deputy Prime Minister told The Mirror the historic legislation – designed to prevent future state cover-ups – “must remain in its current, strong form” so that “injustice has no place to hide”. The new law will be debated and voted on in the Commons for the first time on Monday.
The landmark Bill follows a decades-long fight for justice by the families of the 97 Liverpool football fans who died in a fatal crush at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. Mr Lammy, who also serves as Justice Secretary, said: “Despite facing unthinkable loss, cowardly cover-ups, and denials of justice, the families and victims of Hillsborough, Grenfell, infected blood and other British tragedies did something extraordinary: they kept going. This landmark legislation is for them, and for the memory of all the loved ones they lost.”
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The government introduced the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which is referred to as the Hillsborough law, in September. At the time Keir Starmer gave Hillsborough victims’ families his word the legislation – in which public officials could face criminal sanctions for lying – will not be weakened.
Mr Lammy said: “Today, MPs can begin that change. But we must ensure this Bill isn’t watered down. And we must get it into law as quickly as possible.”
The legislation will create a legal duty of candour for all public officials, such as police officers, with criminal penalties for lying or withholding information. It will also end the “David and Goliath” battle with an expansion of legal aid.
Victims have previously said they were “left with no transparency, no truth” only “justice cover-ups and a system that closes ranks and protects those who we should trust”.
Families of those who died in the tragedy in Hillsborough, Sheffield, have faced a decades-long battle beset by cover-ups. It took until 2016 for the results of initial inquests to be quashed and verdicts of unlawful killing to be recorded.
Four years earlier an independent inquiry found the main cause of the disaster was lack of police control, with crowd safety “compromised at every level”. It also found that 41 victims could have survived if emergency services had co-ordinated their response better.
Liverpool fans were wrongly and repeatedly blamed for the fatal crush at the Hillsborough stadium on April 15, 1989. Subsequent court cases failed to bring anyone to justice, but a report by Bishop James Jones of Liverpool found systemic failings were caused by “the patronising disposition of unaccountable power”.
Supporters of a duty of candour for public officials include victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people, and the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, which saw hundreds of people wrongfully prosecuted and convicted.
After second reading in the Commons today (MON), the Bill will then go through various parliamentary hurdles before making its way to the House of Lords.
It is a process that could take many months. But it is understood the Government is aiming for the legislation to clear all its parliamentary stages and to be given Royal Assent by spring 2026.
Mr Lammy said this will ensure “any family facing the might of the state will no longer have to beg and borrow to afford a lawyer”. Mr Lammy added that too often the state has “failed” people going through “extraordinary pain” and injustice.
He referred to the Hillsborough tragedy but also Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people in June 2017, and the Post Office and Windrush scandals.
He said: “Their asks were simple: tell the truth, take responsibility, and give grieving families the dignity they deserve. Today, MPs will debate the Hillsborough Law in Parliament for the very first time. We will make sure we deliver on all three promises.”
