Long-delayed Hillsborough law returns to Commons amid secrecy row

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2024-26 would extend the Hillsborough law’s duty of candour to security and intelligence information, subject to safeguards.

Under the bill, officials in relevant organisations would have to pass information up to their organisation’s head, who would then be required to disclose it to an inquiry or investigation unless specific conditions were met. The bill would also create a new offence for misleading the public in seriously improper ways, and would give bereaved families non-means-tested legal aid at inquests.

In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed in the Hillsborough crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground in Sheffield, and police false narratives blamed supporters for years. Families spent decades demanding disclosure, accountability and legal support. Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died at Hillsborough, said she was “absolutely delighted” and added that the law was not just for the families but for the country.

It was introduced in the Commons on 16 September 2025 and had its second reading on 3 November 2025. Its report stage and third reading were first set for 14 January 2026, then pushed back to 19 January, before the government delayed it again over the balance between transparency and national security. A carry-over motion on 27 April 2026 allowed it to continue into the new session that began in May, and on 13 July 2026 ministers said the remaining Commons stages would take place the next day.

Sir Keir Starmer had promised to pass the law by 15 April 2025, the 36th anniversary of Hillsborough, a deadline that was missed. The government now wants it on the statute book by April 2027. Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram and South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard backed the legislation, while Andy Burnham has pressed for a version that does not exempt MI5 or MI6 from the duty of candour.