Starmer to use last week in power to push through Hillsborough law | Hillsborough disaster
Keir Starmer is expected to use his final week in office to push the Hillsborough bill through its remaining stages in the House of Commons after months of delays.
This bill aims to strengthen support for families seeking justice after major disasters and create new offenses for officials who deliberately mislead the public or seek to obstruct 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 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 apply to the intelligence services. The legislation was due to complete its Commons stages earlier this year but the government delayed it due to concerns by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ about its impact on national security operations and undercover officers.
Campaigners and bereaved families feared the legislation, formally known as the civil liability bill, would be shelved again.
It takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which killed 97 Liverpool fans during the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in Sheffield.
In 2016, nearly 30 years after the disaster, a landmark inquest found that those killed had been killed unlawfully and, contrary to unsubstantiated claims by officials, the behavior of Liverpool fans played no part in the tragedy.
The families’ decades-long fight for justice has exposed repeated failures by public institutions, including South Yorkshire police.
Ministers have proposed changes that would allow intelligence chiefs to decide whether to release information during investigations where national security is at risk. The proposal sparked a backlash from Hillsborough families and Labor MPs, who argued it would undermine the fundamental purpose of the law by allowing parts of the state to avoid scrutiny.
The government later withdrew the proposed amendment but continued discussions on how sensitive intelligence should be protected while preserving the broader concept of the bill.
The confusion increased once again last week when deputy prime minister and justice minister David Lammy told the House of Commons that he was “confident” the bill would come back “in the coming days”. He was responding to Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper’s call on the government to pass the legislation before the recess.
But other government officials have suggested it will not return until after the summer holidays, when Starmer will no longer be prime minister.
Parliamentary business was updated on Tuesday to include the remaining Commons stages of the bill, clearing the way for MPs to approve the legislation before it goes to the House of Lords.
The timing gives Starmer the chance to leave office, fulfilling one of the promises most associated with his premiership. But for Hillsborough families, the progress of the legislation has been marred by months of uncertainty and setbacks.
If the bill is approved in the House of Commons this week, it would represent a major step towards imposing a statutory duty on public authorities; an objective goal that campaigners believe will help prevent cover-ups following disasters and major social tragedies.
