Keir Starmer’s pledge to introduce a duty of candour by the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster is set to be missed.
Labour's election manifesto said it would introduce a Hillsborough Law, which would place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths. Following the party's election victory in July, the King’s Speech confirmed that Starmer’s election manifesto pledge would be established in law.
The prime minister then pledged at last year’s Labour conference in Liverpool in September that it would be introduced by 15 April 15, the 36th anniversary of the fatal football stadium crowd crush, and that it would include criminal sanctions.
Building safety minister Alex Norris told the House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee yesterday that he believes the law is “coming imminently”.
But the 15 April deadline, now just 12 days away, is now likely be missed amid disagreements between ministers and campaigners about whether the legislation will be tough enough, according to The Times.
The newspaper said Whitehall sources have described the process to create the law as “a complete mess” and said ministers were reluctant to bring forward legislation if it is not supported by Hillsborough families.
Ministers and officials are reportedly worried that a duty of candour could be impractical if it applies criminal sanctions to all levels of dishonesty. The government is instead proposing that only officials found to have deliberately misled or concealed information from an investigation will face criminal proceedings – with non-statutory inquiries and internal workplace investigations included alongside inquiries and inquests, according to The Times.
The duty of candour “will otherwise apply to public bodies and their workers as part of a professional code of ethics, breaches of which would not count as a criminal offence, under the proposals”, the newspaper said.
On the other hand, advocates for the law have questioned whether the proposed legislation would have prevented South Yorkshire police officers from lying about the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
The Times also reported that upcoming cuts to the Ministry of Justice’s budget expected in the June Spending Review could disrupt the legislation.
Jenni Hicks, whose daughters Sarah and Victoria died in the Hillsborough disaster, said last week that she would “rather wait a little bit longer and have a proper and appropriate Hillsborough Law, with a duty of candour that's strong enough, rather than [Starmer] just trying to keep his promise with a diluted version”. Her comments followed reports that Starmer had cancelled a meeting with Hillsborough families.
CSW has approached No.10 and the MoJ for comment.