Hillsborough Law campaigners ‘in the dark’ on anniversary of disaster

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had pledged to introduce a “Hillsborough Law” before this year’s anniversary of the tragedy, which took place at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989.

But, on the eve of the anniversary, Downing Street said more time was needed to draft the best version of the legislation, which campaigners hope will include a legal duty of candour on public authorities.

Last month, it was reported that a meeting between Sir Keir and campaigners had been cancelled, with claims officials were attempting to have the contents of the Bill watered down. It is understood concerns related to who the duty of candour would apply to.

Elkan Abrahamson, solicitor for Broudie Jackson Canter and director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, said the redrafted version was a “betrayal” of promises made.

He said: “We remain largely in the dark as to the status of the Bill and the next steps. The recent Cabinet Office redraft of the Bill is a betrayal of the promises made by the Government so there must be urgent steps to return to the original principles.

“We have made it clear to the Government that we will not accept anything that falls short of a full Hillsborough Law which includes a duty of candour for all public officials.

“We stand ready to assist the Government in delivering the promised legislation and urge them to speak to us to better understand what is required.

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“The legislation must deliver what was promised in the coming weeks to ensure a lasting legacy for Hillsborough families and survivors and to ensure others are not put through the ordeal of fighting for truth, justice and accountability.”

Campaigners are planning to contact all MPs by the end of the month.

On Monday (April 14), the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Having consulted with groups over recent weeks and months, we believe more time is needed to draft the best version of a Hillsborough Law, but we remain fully committed to bringing this legislation at pace, and we’ll obviously continue to work with them in the weeks ahead and provide an update when we’ve got it.”

Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

Today (April 15), the anniversary will be marked with a minute’s silence in Liverpool and flags on civic buildings will be flown at half staff.

The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Richard Kemp, and council leader Liam Robinson will lead the silence in Exchange Flags, behind the town hall, before a bell is tolled 97 times and an instrumental version of You’ll Never Walk Alone is played.

The original Hillsborough inquest verdicts were quashed in 2012 following the publication of an independent panel report and in 2016 a jury found victims of the disaster were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors.

The match commander on the day, David Duckenfield, was charged with gross negligence manslaughter in 2017, but was cleared in 2019 at a retrial held after the jury in his first trial was unable to reach a verdict.

In 2021, retired officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster and former force solicitor Peter Metcalf, who were accused of amending statements to minimise the blame on South Yorkshire Police, were acquitted of perverting the course of justice after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.

Earlier this year, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) told families and survivors their investigation had found South Yorkshire Police sought to deflect the blame from themselves.

But the police watchdog said it was unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct because the professional standards for policing at the time did not include a specific duty of candour.