Hillsborough Law breakthrough in Keir Starmer’s final week as intelligence service plan agreed
EXCLUSIVE: Officials have confirmed to The Mirror that a breakthrough has been made in getting the Hillsborough Law back before MPs this week, with a new process for making intelligence service staff comply with a duty of candour
Amendments to the Hillsborough Law will be put before MPs this week(Image: Getty Images)
A major breakthrough has been reached with the long-awaited Hillsborough Law after frantic work to get legislation ready before Keir Starmer’s exit.
The Mirror can confirm the long-awaited Public Office (Accountability) Bill will be put back in front of MPs this week. It follows months of behind-the-scenes negotiations to resolve a dispute about whether a duty of candour should apply to intelligence services.
The development has been hailed as an “overwhelming victory” to prevent future cover-ups like the one that followed the tragic deaths of 97 Liverpool fans in 1989.
Amendments to be put forward this week mean individuals who currently or formerly worked for intelligence agencies can be given ‘compliance directions’. Insiders believe this will iron out concerns about national security being compromised by forcing staff to assist public inquiries and investigations.
The Mirror understands new amendments will create a process so this can happen “securely in a national security context”. Under the new proposals, individual employees will send information to the head of the body they work for.
This chief is then responsible for passing on information to the inquiry or investigation – subject to all existing arrangements in law and practice for protecting sensitive information.
Labour promised to bring in a Hillsborough Law in its 2024 election manifesto. But despite promises to get it over the line, the legislation has been mired in legal wrangling since September last year.
A government source said: “This is an overwhelming victory after months of hard work to find a solution that ensures we have a duty of candour that applies to the intelligence services without compromising national security.
“The Hillsborough Law will fundamentally change the balance of power so the state can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve, and so victims can always get justice.”
Earlier the Hillsborough Law campaign told The Liverpool Echo : “The Government has now conceded that there will be no carve-outs, no exemptions for security services or anyone else, breaking the impasse that has persisted since January.
“This is an important milestone, not just for Hillsborough families, but for every family who has experienced a cover-up and lack of accountability from public authorities. We are a big step closer to ensuring that no family has to again fight for the truth for decades.”
