Britain13 July, 20262 min read
British MPs Approve Hillsborough Law After Ministers Break Deadlock Over Duty Of Candour
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MPs approved the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Duty of candour requires truth-telling by public authorities, including intelligence services.
Hillsborough Law Approved
British lawmakers approved the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, imposing a legal duty on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and co-operate with official investigations and inquiries after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
The law is named after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed 97 lives after a crush during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, and MPs approved the bill after ministers broke a deadlock over how the duty of candour applies to the intelligence services.
Sir Keir Starmer told MPs, "We stand on the precipice of change. This is a moment of real significance for our country," as he praised campaigners for their work on the long-delayed legislation.
Andy Burnham, expected to replace Starmer as prime minister on 20 July, said the bill ensures "justice for ordinary people going forward" and is "some legacy" for Starmer, while the BBC said it will now be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before it can become law.
Starmer and Burnham Credit
In the Commons debate, Burnham used his first speech back in Parliament to praise Sir Keir Starmer for his commitment to "a country based on justice" as MPs passed the Hillsborough Law. Burnham told the Commons, "It truly is a rewiring of the state and a passing of power from the authorities to the hands of ordinary people," and the Telegraph described his conciliatory tone toward the outgoing prime minister despite Burnham’s role in ousting him from office.
Channel 4 News said that on Tuesday "both Sir Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham took the credit for bringing it about" as MPs voted to pass the Hillsborough Law that imposes a duty on public authorities to tell the truth. The BBC reported that Sir Keir said the Hillsborough families "fought so that no family like them should ever have to endure and suffer what they went through," while it also said Conservatives accused Starmer of rushing the legislation through its final stages in the Commons.
Duty of Candour, Spies, Next Steps
The Hillsborough Law’s passage followed wrangling over whether it would apply to Britain’s spies, with the BBC saying ministers broke the deadlock with amendments approved by MPs on Tuesday. The BBC said Justice Minister Catherine Atkinson described the amendments as ensuring the duty of candour "applies to all individual intelligence officers while establishing secure procedures for the disclosure of sensitive information," and it said the bill had been delayed because of the dispute over intelligence services.
WSLS reported that after pressure from bereaved families, the government agreed that the intelligence services would also be covered by the duty of candor, but with a "secure process" for disclosing information if it could affect national security. WSLS said the bill will become law after being approved by the House of Lords, and it quoted Labour lawmaker Ian Byrne saying he hoped the law would mean "that no grieving family will ever have to come to fight the state simply to uncover the truth."