167 cross-party MPs and Lords sign letter calling for an undiluted Hillsborough Law
27 June 2025
Wreaths and tributes to the 97 at the Hillsborough Memorial outside Anfield Stadium in Liverpool. Credit: Alex Blair / Garden Court North Chambers.
138 MPs and 29 Lords have signed a letter published today (27 June 2025) calling for the UK Government to deliver a full and undiluted ‘Hillsborough Law’, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised in his party conference in 2022 and 2024 in Liverpool.
The letter, drafted by Garden Court North’s Pete Weatherby KC and coordinated by Ian Byrne MP, strongly emphasises that a watered down Hillsborough Law will not be accepted by the bereaved families, legal experts, or politicians from ten political parties.
Signatories hail from all ends of the Labour Party political spectrum, and also include former Labour Secretary of State Lord Peter Hain, former Secretary of State Lord Des Browne, former Shadow Attorney General and director of Liberty Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn MP, and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
A Duty of Candour
The letter debunks various misconceptions anonymously briefed to the media by Ministers and officials from the Cabinet Office against Hillsborough Law, such as that the bill would criminalise junior civil servants who turned up late for work and lied about it – a blatant mistruth, as attested by the legal experts who drafted the law.
The letter also outlines the absence of a Duty of Candour in the Government’s revised draft bill, shown to legal experts in March, which would defang the bill, to “provisions which would make little difference to the status quo”.
This status quo allowed public authorities to cover up negligent actions in the aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, in which 97 fans were unlawfully killed as a result of a crush during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
In 2016, an inquest jury found that Liverpool fans were not to blame for what happened, despite disingenuous media reporting and statements by authorities, and those who died were unlawfully killed. Jurors blamed police failures, stadium design defects and a delayed response by the ambulance service.
Hillsborough Law is not just supported by the Hillsborough families, but also by the survivors, bereaved families and those directly affected by Grenfell, Covid, the Infected Blood and Post Office Horizon scandals, Nuclear Test Survivors, and other state-related disasters.
The bill was introduced to Parliament by current Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and was co-sponsored by the likes of then-MP Steve Rotheram and current Merseyside Labour ministers Maria Eagle and Alison McGovern. Ian Byrne MP is now the parliamentary lead on Hillsborough Law.
“A watered-down replacement will not be accepted nor befitting to be called ‘Hillsborough Law’”, said Ian Byrne MP. “There can be no compromise in ending the culture of state cover ups.”
Additional media
The Mirror – Keir Starmer given Hillsborough Law warning by MPs and peers – ‘don’t betray families’
Liverpool Echo – Prime Minister told ‘do not betray Hillsborough families’ as 167 MPs and Lords sign powerful letter
For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk
