Starmer to use last week in power to push through Hillsborough law

Hillsborough campaigners fought for nearly 30 years for justice for the 97 victims of the stadium disaster. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA View image in fullscreen Hillsborough campaigners fought for nearly 30 years for justice for the 97 victims of the stadium disaster. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA Starmer to use last week in power to push through Hillsborough law Stalled legislation aims to prevent cover-ups and help families seek justice after major disasters Keir Starmer is expected to use his final week in office to push the Hillsborough law through its remaining stages in the Commons after months of delays. This bill aims to strengthen support for families seeking justice after major disasters and create new offences for officials who deliberately mislead the public or seek to block accountability. The prime minister made the legislation one of Labour’s defining manifesto commitments before entering government. Speaking at the party’s conference in Liverpool in 2024, he promised to introduce legislation before the next anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster – 15 April – saying families should never again have to fight the state to uncover the truth. But despite the pledge, the bill was delayed after ministers clashed with campaigners over how it should be applied to the intelligence services. The law was due to complete its Commons stages earlier this year but the government postponed it amid concerns from MI5, MI6 and GCHQ over its impact on national security operations and covert officers. Campaigners and bereaved families had been concerned that the law – officially known as the public office (accountability) bill – would be kicked into the long grass again. It takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters after a crush at their team’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in Sheffield. In 2016, nearly 30 years after the disaster, a landmark inquest found that those who died were unlawfully killed – and that the behaviour of Liverpool fans played no part in the tragedy, contrary to the false claims of officers. The decades-long fight for justice by families exposed repeated failings by public bodies, including South Yorkshire police. Ministers had proposed changes that would have allowed intelligence chiefs to decide whether information could be disclosed during investigations where national security was at stake. The proposal prompted a backlash from Hillsborough families and Labour MPs who argued it would undermine the central purpose of the law by allowing parts of the state to avoid scrutiny. The government later dropped the proposed amendment but continued discussions over how sensitive intelligence should be protected while preserving the wider notion of the bill. Confusion grew once more last week when the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, David Lammy, said in the Commons he was “confident” the draft legislation would be back “in the coming days”. He