The long-awaited Hillsborough Law that will force public officials to tell the truth during investigations into disasters will help address the “injustices” faced by survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, a London Labour MP said today.
Kensington and Bayswater MP Joe Powell said families affected by the devestating skyscraper blaze in 2017 had faced years of “cover-ups, denial and delay”.
The new Public Office (Accountability) Bill is intended to make sure authorities will face criminal sanctions if they attempt to cover up facts behind disasters such as the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy or the Grenfell Tower fire.
Mr Powell, whose constituency contains Grenfell, said: “The Grenfell Tower fire is one of many cases of injustices involving the very state that is supposed to protect people.
“For too long, families devastated by tragedy have been met not with honesty, but with cover-ups, denial, and delay. The introduction of the Hillsborough Law will start to change that.
“I am delighted that the Labour Government is bringing forward a bill that will help to restore public trust in institutions and level the playing field between victims and the state.
“Grenfell’s legacy should be about deep and lasting change in our country to ensure that culture and behaviour is shifted, power is rebalanced, and that gives voice and respect to every citizen.”
Sir Keir Starmer had previously pledged to bring in the law by the 36th anniversary of the fatal crowd crush at a football match in Sheffield, which was on April 15, but Downing Street then said more time was needed to redraft it.
At a meeting with some of the families of those killed at Hillsborough, Sir Keir acknowledged it had been a battle, with “frank” discussions continuing as his deadline passed.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, died at Hillsborough, said she is hopeful the new law “will mean no one will ever have to suffer like we did”.
Speaking alongside Sir Keir in No 10, she said: “I thought this is a day that was not going to happen.”
“This is not just about a legacy for the 97,” she said, in reference to the number of Liverpool fans who died in the tragedy.
“This is a legacy for the people of this country and I think that is the most important thing.”
The Prime Minister said the courage shown by campaigners had been “humbling”.
Some had raised fears the Bill’s contents had been diluted and would not include a legal duty of candour.
But the Government has confirmed a new professional and legal duty of candour will become law, meaning public officials must act with honesty and integrity at all times and could face criminal sanctions if they breach it.
The Hillsborough disaster led to the deaths of 97 football fans during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the football ground in Sheffield.
The Government said the new legislation will “end the culture of cover-ups” and learn lessons from wider disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire, the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals.
Natasha Elcock, from Grenfell United, said: “It has been so easy for public and private agencies to escape accountability and scrutiny. By establishing a duty of candour, Hillsborough Law will prevent this, help us learn from failures and ensure bereaved and survivors are properly supported.”
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough Law Now campaign warned the Bill must not be weakened during its passage through Parliament and called on the Government to “be brave and ignore the vested interests” of those who might attempt to water it down.
Sir Keir said the new legislation can change “the balance of power in Britain” to ensure the state “can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve”.
He added: “Make no mistake, this a law for the 97, but it is also a law for the subpostmasters who suffered because of the Horizon scandal, the victims of infected blood, and those who died in the terrible Grenfell Tower fire. This is change only this Government can deliver.”
Among what the Government has described as the “seismic changes” as part of the Bill are the biggest expansion of legal aid in a decade for bereaved families, with non-means tested help and support for inquests.
This was welcomed by Julia Waters, sister of headteacher Ruth Perry who took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her school.
Ms Waters said her family had been denied legal aid for the inquest, meaning they were “forced to crowdfund to cover our legal costs at an already emotional and stressful time – simply to be heard and to try to uncover the truth”, something she said felt “profoundly unjust” when the public bodies involved had their legal costs covered.
There will also be a new offence for misleading the public, which the Government said will mean criminal sanctions for the most serious breaches.
