Civil servants and other public officials who breach the "duty of candour" set to be introduced under the government's proposed Hillsborough Law could face criminal sanctions, the prime minister has said.
Keir Starmer used the first part of his speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool yesterday to tease more details of the legislation, which is due to be introduced to parliament in the coming months.
The law is named after the 1989 football-stadium disaster that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool FC fans. Police wrongly blamed supporters for causing the tragedy in a cover-up that took decades to unravel.
Labour's 2024 general election manifesto pledged the Hillsborough Law would place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths.
It said the duty of candour would “address the unacceptable defensive culture prevalent across too much of the public sector” highlighted by reports on Hillsborough and other scandals.
July's King's Speech was short on detail related to the new law, which will be sponsored by the Cabinet Office. However, it vowed that the legislation would be "a catalyst for a changed culture in the public sector" and that it would improve accountability and transparency in situations where public service failure is the subject of investigation and scrutiny.
"I can confirm that the duty of candour will apply to public authorities and public servants," Starmer told the Labour Party conference yesterday. "The bill will include criminal sanctions. And the Hillsborough Law will be introduced to parliament before the next anniversary in April."
Starmer said the Hillsborough Law would serve as "a law for Liverpool" and for the victims of the disaster, and for the victims of all scandals.
"It's also a law for the subpostmasters in the Horizon Scandal," he said. "The victims of infected blood. Windrush. Grenfell Tower. And all the countless injustices over the years suffered by working people at the hands of those who who were supposed to serve them – truth and justice concealed behind the closed ranks of the state."
Starmer said the law would show people that politics could be "a force for good" and "be on the side of truth and justice".