Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said security services won't be exempt from the proposed legislation despite concerns
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy appearing on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy appearing on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg(Image: PA)
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Security services will not be "exempt" from the Hillsborough Law, culture secretary Lisa Nandy said following backlash from families and campaigners about an amendment to the legislation submitted by the government.
The new law aims to introduce a duty of candour on public officials, with criminal sanctions if they are found to have lied or misled the public. Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly pledged to bring in the new law and has said it will not be watered down.
But a major row has developed over what campaigners have called a "carve out" for the intelligence and security services following an amendment put forward by the government. Families and campaigners say this would effectively exempt organisations like MI5 from the duty of candour, meaning the head of that service could decide when information should or should not be revealed.
The government insists the duty of candour will apply to intelligence services, but says there is a delicate balance to strike to protect national security.
The issue resulted in a key vote on the Hillsborough Law - known as the report stage - being delayed from Wednesday (January 14) of this week to Monday (January 19) next week, allowing time for families and campaigners to meet with the Prime Minister to air their concerns.
But that meeting ended without resolution and the ECHO understands the government will be proceeding with its security services amendment on Monday, which will not have the support of the Hillsborough Law campaign.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the “challenge is to make sure that this applies to the security services without fear or favour” and that they can “continue to do their jobs”.
Ms Nandy told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “I just want to be really clear, the security services won’t be exempt.”
She added that it was important to “never ever end up in a situation like we did with the Manchester Arena inquiry” where “security services are able to withhold information and present an inaccurate picture to families and to a public inquiry for a very long time”.
Some campaigners have warned that a draft version of the legislation – formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – might allow intelligence chiefs to “hide serious failures behind a vague claim of national security”.
The Wigan MP rejected a suggestion the plans could be withdrawn amid the threat of backbench opposition to it and said the Government is talking to families and campaigners.
Ms Nandy added: "I’m confident that we’re going to resolve it. How it plays out tomorrow at the moment, is dependent on those conversations that we have, but those conversations are going on right now."
Ms Nandy's comments come a day after Liverpool and Manchester mayors, Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham, both called on the government to withdraw the amendment over the same concerns voiced by families and campaigners.
In a joint statement, they said: "As it stands, we believe the government’s amendment in relation to the security services creates too broad an opt-out and risks undermining the spirit of the legislation.
"We appreciate that the government has made huge strides in working to deliver the Hillsborough Law and are grateful for their willingness to work with campaigners thus far to make it the strongest law possible.
"It is in that spirit that we call on them to withdraw their amendment ahead of Monday’s debate and work with the families and the Hillsborough Law Now campaign to find a solution acceptable to all sides."