Deputy Prime Minister says long-delayed bill, named after 97 Liverpool fans who were unlawfully killed, should be back before MPs next week
The Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield
The Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield(Image: PA)
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The Hillsborough Law is likely to return to Parliament before the summer break, David Lammy has said, as he came under pressure to ensure the security services were subject to its “duty of candour”.
The Deputy Prime Minister told the Commons that he was “confident” it would be back before MPs in the next week as he was asked about reports by the BBC that MI5 had covered up for an agent who had attacked his girlfriend with a machete and was “obsessed” with violence.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said MI5 had given false evidence to courts to protect the agent, who has not been identified. The proposed law had previously stalled over concerns it would not apply to the intelligence agencies.
The law, formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, will require public officials to tell the truth during inquiries and investigations. It was promised by Labour in its 2024 manifesto.
It takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 Liverpool fans were killed at the football stadium at Sheffield in a crush during an FA Cup semi-final match.
It was found afterwards that key public servants, including the police, had not told the truth about the decisions taken leading up to the fatal crush in the Leppings Lane end of the ground.
The ECHO travelled with Hillsborough families last year to Downing Street on the historic day that the new law was first laid before Parliament. But it has been bogged down in delays on its route to becoming legislation.
Hillsborough families met with Keir Starmer ahead of the Bill being laid before Parliament
Hillsborough families met with Keir Starmer ahead of the Bill being laid before Parliament(Image: Getty Images)
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Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Cooper said: “MI5 has defended in court an agent that they knew to be openly misogynistic, obsessed with violence and who used his position to coercively control his girlfriend Beth, and attack her with a machete.
“To add insult to injury, MI5 also gave false evidence to the courts.
“So, will the Deputy Prime Minister use this opportunity to offer Beth a full apology on behalf of the Government? And will he use his position to bring back a full Hillsborough Bill next week to cover the security services, so we can pass the law before the summer recess?”
Mr Lammy, standing in for Sir Keir Starmer during the Nato summit in Ankara, responded: “She raises a very serious issue, of course, and I will arrange for Beth to meet with the security minister to discuss this in detail. She also raises the Hillsborough Bill and I’m confident that this will be before the House in the coming days.”
Both Sir Keir, and Andy Burnham – who is expected to be Labour’s next leader – have previously spoken of their support for the Bill.
It was brought forward during the last parliamentary session and “carried over” to ensure it could pass after Parliament was prorogued.
Last year, the Government faced a row after proposing amendments that would see spies brought within the scope of the law, but only with the approval of the head of their services.
Campaigners warned this could be used as a way of escaping the new “duty of candour” and the amendments were pulled.