Campaigners hail new Hillsborough Law: ‘It means no one will ever have to suffer like we did’
New Hillsborough Law to end a ‘culture of cover-ups’
- The government is introducing the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, to Parliament on Tuesday.
- The legislation aims to end a "culture of cover-ups" and ensure public officials act with honesty and integrity, drawing lessons from disasters including Hillsborough, Grenfell Tower, and the Post Office Horizon scandal.
- Key provisions include a new professional and legal duty of candour, which could lead to criminal sanctions for public officials who breach it.
- The Bill also features the biggest expansion of legal aid in a decade for bereaved families, offering non-means tested support for inquests, and a new offence for misleading the public.
- Campaigners and figures like Sir Keir Starmer have welcomed the Bill as a significant step towards justice, while urging the government to resist any attempts to weaken it during its parliamentary passage.