Families of the victims of Britain’s deadliest football tragedy have said they they feel “insulted” by the lack of progress on the Hillsborough Law.
The government missed its own deadline to deliver the landmark new legislation by the 2025 anniversary of the disaster – and the bill remains stuck in Parliament almost a year on.
Now, bereaved families of the 97 Liverpool fans who died on April 15, 1989 have joined with survivors of some of Britain’s worst disasters and injustices to continue the campaign for the Hillsborough Law, which would introduce a legally binding duty of candour for public officials during investigations and inquiries.
READ MORE: UK Government responds to ‘sickening’ Grok posts mocking Hillsborough and MunichREAD MORE: Liverpool and Man Utd act over sickening Grok posts mocking Hillsborough, Munich and Jota
Prime Minister Keir Starmer repeatedly pledged to bring in the legislation in full in Labour’s election-winning manifesto in 2024, and was joined by family members in 10 Downing Street as they met with the PM on the historic day the bill was first introduced in the House of Commons.
But on its journey through Parliament, the legislation has been plagued by delays amid a row over how the law will affect the intelligence services.
Families and campaigners say they are becoming increasingly exasperated with the ongoing delays, with it now clear that the bill will not return to Parliament during this session, which concludes on Thursday.
Parliament reconvenes on April 13, making it highly likely that another Hillsborough anniversary will pass without the promised law being enacted.
Survivors have now penned a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to take decisive action and honour his pledge.
The campaign has said it believes Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s concerns about national security have impacted the progress of the bill, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Speaking most recently in the Commons about the progress of the bill on January 19, the Prime Minister said the government was working to “make sure we get the balance right when it comes to the application of any principle to the security and intelligence agencies”.
He added: “Obviously, I have to focus on the national interest, my primary duty as Prime Minister, which is to keep this country safe and secure. That is the duty I hold above all other duties, and I take it really seriously, which is why we’re just taking time to make sure that we get that balance absolutely right.”
But the campaign group Hillsborough Law Now, which coordinated the letter to the Prime Minister, maintained that they just want existing national security safeguards to apply to the bill.
Speaking to the ECHO today, Charlotte Hennessy, whose father, Jimmy, was unlawfully killed at the Hillsborough disaster, said: “We feel incredibly disappointed; I would go as far as to say some of our members feel duped.
“We have put this letter together just to express our anger and the feeling of unrest we have.
“This is very draining, we were all under the impression that this would be on its way to getting Royal Assent by now and there is only so many times you can take another stall in the process.
“We’ve always been very, very clear with the government that we wouldn’t go anywhere near the secret service or anything like that. This is about giving a legal duty of candour to all public servants and organisations.
“We have done absolutely everything that the government has asked of us. We’ve attended meetings at the last minute; we pride ourselves on acting with integrity throughout all of this. We have all had to make lots of sacrifices, from missing work, losing pay – many of us have commitments like children and pets to organise.
“The Prime Minister is the one who made this pledge. I am fed up of this narrative that he didn’t realise what he was jumping into. He’s a very intelligent man, the former director of public prosecutions, he knew what he was committing to.
“He needs to pick a lane now and evaluate his position. People voted for him because of this, he needs to make a firm decision. There is either going to be a public accountability bill in its entirety or there isn’t and we won’t negotiate on that.”
Following claims that the Home Secretary declined to meet the group, Ms Hennessy added: “She is the minister for MI5 and the security services, how can we come to a resolution and hear her concerns if she won’t meet with us?”
“The fact that we are now at this point of uncertainty and unrest is not only upsetting but also deeply insulting to the good people that put their faith in the hands of our Prime Minister, even though that went against their better judgement.”
A government spokesperson told the Mirror: “The Hillsborough disaster will remain in our national consciousness for its tragedy and disgraceful injustice. Our legislation will right these wrongs, changing the balance of power so the State must always act for the people it is supposed to serve.
“We must take the time to get this right, bringing in a Bill that is testament to their decades campaigning, while never compromising on national security.
“The families and campaigners have always been at the heart of this process, we have met with them regularly over the last year, and continue to work closely with them.”
