Families demand “all or nothing” Hillsborough Law at INQUEST’s ‘Family Listening Day’
8 April 2025
A 2016 vigil for the Hillsborough families outside St George’s Hall, Liverpool, following the inquest ruling that the 97 fans were unlawfully killed. Credit: St George’s Hall.
In 2022, Keir Starmer publicly promised to enact ‘Hillsborough Law’ as one of his first actions on being elected to Government.
INQUEST, which supports bereaved families in state-related deaths, has today (8 April) published a new report following a Family Listening Day, which brought together bereaved families, survivors and those directly affected by Hillsborough, Grenfell, Covid, the Infected Blood and Post Office Horizon scandals, Nuclear Veterans, and other state-related disasters, to speak directly to ministers. The Listening Day was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Justice and supported by the Hillsborough Law Now campaign.
Together, the participants shared their common demand that the Government keeps to its promises and does not replace the Hillsborough Law with a different draft bill which changes little. The Prime Minister had pledged to introduce a new bill in Parliament before the disaster’s 36th anniversary next Tuesday (15 April), but has now “paused” the process following widespread concerns.
Bereaved families who lost loved ones at the Hillsborough disaster and other state-related scandals have warned the UK government against removing key parts of Hillsborough Law from the forthcoming bill, and called for an “all or nothing” approach.
Hillsborough Law – a Duty of Candour
Reports in the past few days have cautioned that the new draft provisions, which have not been published, omit key parts of the original Bill which provide for a legal Duty of Candour – a ‘toolbox’ to ensure compliance and enforcement, and a rebalancing of funding for representation for state bodies and those bereaved or affected in such cases.
The provisions of Hillsborough Law are designed to be practical and effective. They aim to facilitate a culture of candour rather than denial and institutional defensiveness, promoting shorter, cheaper and more efficient inquiries and official investigations. They would redress the current imbalance where state bodies have full teams of lawyers and families often have none.
Having represented families in the Hillsborough inquests and many other such processes, Garden Court North’s Pete Weatherby KC was key in drafting the original law, introduced to Parliament as the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill by then MP Andy Burnham, and which had its first reading in March 2017. Its progress came to a halt as a result of the General Election, and until now it has not been reintroduced.
The families and the Hillsborough Law Now campaign simply want the Government to reintroduce the 2017 Bill and bring about practical and effective change to prevent others going through the same official cover-ups and obfuscations as they did.
“After hearing the stories of all the other families fighting for justice, I am more determined than ever to demand that the Hillsborough Law presented to Parliament is all or nothing. This is the legacy of families and survivors – the bill has got to be right,” said Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James was one of the 97 Liverpool FC fans unlawfully killed at Hillsborough.
Deborah Coles, Director at INQUEST, said: “At the Family Listening Day, we heard about some of the worst failings of our public services and legal system over decades. This institutional defensiveness and cruelty to families must end.
While a further delay by Government is disappointing, it must now be used as an urgent opportunity to ensure the bill meets families’ demands. The evidence in our report is too compelling and stark to ignore. Anything less will be a betrayal.”
Additional media
INQUEST: Families demand “All or nothing” Hillsborough Law (link to INQUEST’S report is included in this press release)
The Guardian: Hillsborough families call for ‘all or nothing’ law as Labour expected to break pledge
The Mirror: Keir Starmer’s promised Hillsborough Law must be ‘all or nothing’, campaigners say
For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk
