“We must make certain that it works for bereaved families and working-class people when they are confronted by the power of the state.”
A Hillsborough Law in name only was never going to be enough, writes Ian Byrne MP
When the Government brought the Bill before the Commons for its First Reading ahead of Labour Party Conference last year, many across our movement understandably celebrated. A key manifesto commitment was finally being introduced ahead of Liverpool. But I remained cautious.
Having campaigned for justice for so long and having seen how the state closes ranks to evade accountability, I knew that introducing a Bill was not the same as delivering the full Hillsborough Law. Only the full law could begin to dismantle the culture of cover-up that has caused such profound suffering, and instead deliver truth, justice and accountability for victims and bereaved families – particularly those from working-class communities.
The Government’s Bill included a statutory duty of candour requiring public officials to act honestly and assist inquiries and investigations into state failure. But there was one glaring exception which placed it fundamentally at odds with the Hillsborough Law we had been promised: individual intelligence and security officers were excluded from the duty.
The Government argued that this carve-out was necessary to protect national security. That was a mischaracterisation – and my Amendments 21, 22 and 23 proved it. Tabled ahead of Report Stage, the amendments provided a workable solution. They applied the duty of candour to individual officers, while retaining the existing safeguards governing the disclosure of sensitive information. They demonstrated clearly that we could deliver the full Hillsborough Law without jeopardising national security.
A law containing a carve-out for individual intelligence and security officers was not the Hillsborough Law we had been promised, and it simply would not have worked. If individual officers had no duty to report failures to the head of their service, how could that service ever be held properly accountable? How could we tell bereaved families that they would never again have to take on the full might of the state simply to uncover the truth? How could we promise that the culture of cover-up had ended while deliberately leaving a door open for it to continue?
I thought of the families who lost loved ones in the Manchester Arena attack. The Chinook families. The nuclear test veterans and their families, some of whom continue to live with the consequences of the radiation to which their loved ones were exposed. All needed truth from the security services at the most desperate moments of their lives. For them, the Bill originally proposed by the Government would not have been enough.
That is why, in January, I told the Government that unless the carve-out was removed, I would face the most difficult decision of my political life: voting against a Bill bearing the name of Hillsborough.
The Government rightly withdrew the Bill from the agenda. But the months of negotiation, misleading statements and, worst of all, silence that followed were deeply disheartening. The solution had always been clear: adopt my amendments, remove the carve-out and deliver the Hillsborough Law in full.
On 14 July, the Government finally made the right decision. In the final act of Keir Starmer’s premiership, my amendments were accepted and the full Hillsborough Law passed through the Commons as promised.
That was a hugely significant victory – but it is not the end of the journey.
The Bill must now pass through the House of Lords and reach the statute book ahead of the 38th anniversary of Hillsborough next April. Then comes perhaps the greatest test of all: ensuring that the law delivers the profound change it was created to achieve.
The Hillsborough Law must end the culture of state cover-up once and for all. It must deliver truth, justice and accountability for victims and families when they need it most. Not decades later, after they have been forced to fight institutions with vastly greater power and resources.
It is fitting that the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, will oversee that change. He first introduced the Hillsborough Law to Parliament in 2017 and has supported the campaign for justice since that remarkable moment during the 20th anniversary service at Anfield in 2009. He must now ensure that the law works for the people it was designed to protect.
That includes the nuclear test veterans and their families, who are still seeking access to hidden and redacted Ministry of Defence documents concerning the effects of radiation on those who served our country. I was pleased to see the Prime Minister meet representatives of their campaign this week.
It includes the victims of maternity-care failures who are seeking answers about the deaths of babies, the harm caused to mothers and why units were allowed to conceal serious errors and manipulate medical records.
And it includes the bereaved families of the Troubles, who deserve to see accountability for loved ones killed by rogue actors and understand why the truth was hidden by the state. Alongside an effective Legacy Commission, which the Troubles Bill currently before Parliament seeks to establish, the Hillsborough Law could finally help provide families with long-denied accountability for this dark period in our history.
The Hillsborough Law passed by the Commons in July was the first meaningful step Britain has taken towards making the state properly accountable to the people it exists to serve. For the first time, I feel genuine hope that victims and bereaved families might never again be forced to experience what the Hillsborough families endured in their long and courageous struggle for truth and justice.
But hope is not enough.
We must now get the Bill on to the statute book. We must ensure that it is implemented in full, without delay, dilution or evasion. And we must make certain that it works for bereaved families and working-class people when they are confronted by the power of the state.
Only then will the Hillsborough Law be a legacy truly worthy of the 97.
- Ian Byrne is the MP for Liverpool West Derby. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram and X.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please donate here or become a supporter on Patreon.
