Bereaved Families Urge Full Implementation of Hillsborough Law as Labour Admits Broken Promise

A new report by Inquest reveals that bereaved families are calling on ministers to introduce the Hillsborough law in its entirety, as Labour acknowledges that a pledge to bring legislation by the 36th anniversary of the disaster will not be fulfilled. The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds both attended a “family listening day” event funded by the Ministry of Justice and organized by the campaign group Inquest.

The report, entitled “All or Nothing,” indicates that attendees at the listening day strongly believe that the government must maintain its commitment to prevent future cover-ups through a legally enforceable “duty of candour” on public authorities. Despite this and Labour’s previous pledge to introduce the Hillsborough law, the government is now revising the key proposals. As a result, Keir Starmer is expected to break his pledge to bring the law before parliament by 15 April, the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. After a hostile reaction from families, Mahmood and Thomas-Symonds co-signed a letter to family members acknowledging the broken promise.

The controversy comes after years of Labour’s steadfast support for the law, which was originally drafted by Hillsborough families’ barrister Pete Weatherby QC and introduced in Westminster by Andy Burnham in 2017. Starmer had repeatedly vowed to introduce the law as prime minister, including in his speeches at Labour conferences in both 2022 and 2024.

Starmer emphasized in 2022 that Liverpool had been “let down” for too long and promised to implement the Hillsborough law as one of his first actions in office. He restated this promise in 2024, framing it as a law for Liverpool, the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster, and the victims of other injustices such as the Post Office, infected blood, Windrush, Grenfell fire, and all other forms of working-class abuse by those in power.

Attendees at the Inquest listening day, which included victims of these injustices, highlighted the need for a “thorough enforcement of the duty of candour” with penalties for public officials who intentionally obstruct justice. The proposed Hillsborough law by Weatherby outlines the legal basis for the duty of candour and emphasizes the importance of equal public funding for legal representation at inquests and inquiries, a measure desired by bereaved families for years.

However, the families have been informed that the government’s revised draft focuses more on a voluntary charter for public authorities without strong legal enforcement and does not include provisions for legal funding. This sparked anger among the families, who argued that such a measure would be insufficient.

In their letter, Mahmood and Thomas-Symonds affirmed the government’s ongoing commitment to a Hillsborough law that includes a legal duty of candour for public servants and criminal sanctions for non-compliance.

Margaret Aspinall, whose son James was among the 97 unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, declared that the listening day only strengthened her resolve to demand a comprehensive Hillsborough law. Deborah Coles, director of Inquest, called the delay “disappointing” but also an “urgent opportunity” to ensure the law is introduced in full, arguing that not doing so would be a betrayal of the victims and their families.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/08/hillsborough-families-call-for-all-or-nothing-law-as-labour-expected-to-break-pledge