Hillsborough Law In Chaos As Backlash Forces Government To Pull Bill
Keir Starmer’s government has been thrown into fresh chaos after the prime minister was forced to pull a key bill following a backlash by MPs and campaigners.
The House of Commons had been due to debate and vote on the so-called “Hillsborough Law” on Monday.
But that has now been abandoned after a backlash over government plans to water down the legislation to protect members of the intelligence services.
One senior government figure told HuffPost UK that the highly-unusual move was “mortifying”.
The aim of the new law, which was promised in Labour’s 2024 election manifesto, is to end cover-ups by public bodies in the wake of major disasters such as the Hillsborough disaster and the Manchester Arena bombing.
It would see a legal “duty of candour” introduced making it illegal for those in positions of authority to withhold information from investigations.
A government amendment to the bill would have allowed the heads of the security services to decide whether or not to disclose information involving their operations.
Ministers insisted the change was necessary to protect national security, but campaigners and MPs said that would have fundamentally weakened the legislation.
On Sunday afternoon, the government announced it was pulling the amendment and would hold further talks with victims’ families before trying to change the bill when it gets to the House of Lords.
But just hours later, it was revealed that the bill is being pulled altogether and would not be debated at all on Monday.
A government spokesperson said: “This legislation will right the wrongs of the past, changing the balance of power to ensure the state can never hide from the people it should serve and putting a legal duty on officials to respond openly and honestly when things go wrong.
“The bill will make the police, intelligence agencies and the whole of government more scrutinised than they have ever been. We must get this right to keep the country safe.
“We will welcome continued support from victims and their families, making sure the bill is the strongest it can possibly be while never compromising on national security.”
The latest government climbdown comes just days after Starmer ditched plans to introduce mandatory digital ID cards – his 13th U-turn since becoming PM.
A senior Labour figure said: “Has anyone tried just turning off this government?”