MPs demand swift action on Hillsborough Law amid government delays
More than 50 MPs have signed a motion urging the PM to deliver the Hillsborough Law without further delay, amidst concerns over a weakened alternative bill.
The Early Day Motion, proposed by Ian Byrne, Liverpool West Derby MP, highlights that the Prime Minister missed his own deadline to introduce the Hillsborough Law to Parliament – April 15 2025, the 36th anniversary of the disaster.
It also expresses “grave concern at reports that the Government intends to bring forward a weakened alternative bill, lacking the core principles and protections of the Hillsborough Law.”
It has been co-sponsored by fellow Liverpool Labour MPs Kim Johnson and Paula Barker and is backed by MPs including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Green Party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts, and Liberal Democrat Tom Morrison.
Earlier this month Mr Byrne - Hillsborough Law Now campaign parliamentary lead and a survivor of the disaster - reintroduced the Hillsborough Law to Parliament as a private members’ bill.
The proposed legislation – officially known as the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill – would end the culture of state cover-ups, as seen at the Hillsborough disaster and scandals such as infected blood.
It would do this by creating a legal duty of candour on public officials and authorities, backed by criminal sanctions, and ensuring bereaved families are granted parity of legal representation.
The legislation was written by lawyers who represented Hillsborough families at inquests and it is endorsed by Hillsborough families and survivors, as well as a wide range of groups representing families and survivors of other state cover-ups. It was first introduced to Parliament by Andy Burnham in 2017.
The Early Day Motion “welcomes [Mr Byrne’s] reintroduction of the Hillsborough Law” and “calls on the Government to honour its word and the memory of the 97 lives lost at Hillsborough by enacting the Hillsborough Law in full, without delay.”
When challenged at Prime Minister’s Questions by Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson earlier this month, Keir Starmer said “I just want to take the time to get [the Hillsborough Law] right and then put it before the House.”