Hillsborough Law will 'protect others forever'

The Hillsborough families said they have "shown that true power belongs to ordinary people" after the "monumental" Hillsborough Law they fought a decade for cleared the Commons.

The watershed legislation creates a legal duty for public officials to tell the truth to inquiries and investigations.

Charlotte Hennessy, Sue Roberts, Steve Kelly and Margaret Aspinall said after the fresh Hillsborough inquests in 2016 "we knew we could not stand by and let professionals and organisations continue to abuse their positions of power".

They said the new law will change the way the bereaved and survivors are treated and it was "deeply empowering" knowing it will "protect others forever".

The long-delayed legislation - formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill - is expected to become law by the autumn.

Downing Street withdrew the legislation from the parliamentary agenda in January following disagreements over how far it would require intelligence services to comply with a proposed legal "duty of candour" on public bodies and officials.

Ninety seven Liverpool fans died as a result of the crush during the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough in 1989.

Fresh inquests held in 2016 found the Liverpool fans had been unlawfully killed.

Police leaders were found to have spread false narratives, blaming Liverpool fans and withheld evidence of their own failings, after the disaster at Sheffield Wednesday's ground.

The Hillsborough Law would create a legal duty for public officials to tell the truth to inquiries and investigations.

In a joint statement campaigners Hennessy, Roberts, Kelly and Aspinall said: "Following the conclusions of the fresh Hillsborough Inquests in 2016, we knew that we could not stand by and let professionals and organisations continue to abuse their positions of power.

"For 10 years we have campaigned for a change in the law to stop cover ups, and enable bereaved families, access to legal aid at a time when they need it the most.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to fight for this monumental change of law alongside so many other strong, dedicated campaigners.

"We have shown that true power belongs to ordinary people."

They continued: "We did not stay silent, we were not ground down, we were not afraid to speak truth to power.

"This is not just about legislation, but about changing the way the bereaved and survivors are treated and a change in culture and it is deeply empowering knowing that this protect others, forever."

Elkan Abrahamson, solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter and director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, said: "It is finally beginning to feel as though it was all worth it.

"This week should mark the culmination of a campaign that, for some families, has lasted more than 37 years."

He said: "I attended Sir Keir Starmer's leadership campaign launch in 2020, and I am pleased to see him honour the commitment he made then.

"It takes real political courage to introduce legislation that seeks to hold those in public office to a higher standard of honesty and accountability."

He said the law has "the potential to transform the culture of public service for the better".

"It is about ensuring those exercising public power are expected to tell the truth and are held accountable when they do not."

He paid tribute to the families and campaigners "whose extraordinary determination has brought us to this point".

"Your perseverance has delivered the prospect of lasting change," he said.

He said it had been a "truly remarkable collective effort", also thanking Andy Burnham MP and Ian Byrne MP "for their unwavering support throughout", as well as his fellow directors of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign "especially Pete Weatherby KC, whose relentless determination to ensure this legislation remained true to its original intent never wavered" and his colleagues at Broudie Jackson Canter.

"While there is still work to do, I hope this week marks the beginning of a new chapter - one in which honesty, accountability and transparency become the standards the public should always expect from those who serve them."

David Greene, of Edwin Coe LLP which represented over 600 survivors, victims, and families of the Hillsborough tragedy, said: "This is, of course, not just about Hillsborough but about setting standards for all public authorities.

"Victims and families, many of whom are still embroiled in litigation with the police, had to battle over many years against authorities to get to the truth. Hillsborough Law should go some way to ensuring that battle was not in vain."

Bishop James Jones, who chaired the Hillsborough Independent Panel said the law was "a triumph for ordinary people who believe in truth, accountability and justice".

He added: "The Prime Minister has rightly paid tribute to the families and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster and their dignified tenacity over 37 years, but without his own resolve this bill would not be going through Parliament.

"The families have always said that this is not just about honouring the 97, it is about changing the culture of the nation."

Sioux Vosper, of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said it was a "landmark moment for everyone who has had to fight the state for answers and accountability".

She said Covid-bereaved families "should never have had to push public bodies to disclose the truth about decisions that cost lives".

She added: "This law will help prevent others being forced into the same exhausting battle with powerful institutions."

A spokesperson for Grenfell United paid tribute to the Hillsborough families "whose courage, determination and decades-long fight for truth and justice have made this moment possible".

They added: "We hope this marks the beginning of a new era where honesty, accountability and justice are at the heart of the public response to tragedy, so that no family has to endure the same fight for the truth again."

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