‘Hillsborough law’ backed by Westminster committee

The 39-page report from Westminster’s joint committee on human rights follows campaigning by Hillsborough Law Now, which has called for “a law that will criminalise lying to the British public, and support those fighting for the truth”.

The report warns that “institutional defensiveness” in public authorities remains a barrier to establishing the truth in public inquiries and inquests.

While agreeing that a new duty of candour backed by criminal sanctions should improve openness and engagement with official investigations, it says further work will be needed to produce the required culture change in public bodies.

The government’s Criminal Justice Bill — which is unlikely to pass before the July election — will introduce a type of duty of candour, but focused only on police and appearing to rely on internal disciplinary processes for enforcement. The committee’s report calls for reform to be implemented more broadly, with a duty of candour placed on all public bodies.

An imbalance in legal resources between families and public bodies remains a serious problem and needs to be addressed, the committee also found. It urges the government to investigate further ways to ensure the legal support available to families is proportionate to that of state institutions.

Publishing the report, committee chair Joanna Cherry KC MP said: “All of us on the human rights committee have huge respect and admiration for the courage and fortitude of the families of those who died at Hillsborough and the survivors.

“Just this week we have also seen how the victims of the infected blood scandal had to go through a similar struggle. It is shameful that their pain was compounded by the delays and obfuscation they faced in their search for the truth, and the decades they had to wait for justice.

“Even so many years later lessons still have to be learnt to ensure that these failures are not repeated.

“We are calling on the government to make sure there are cast-iron measures in place that give families as much clout at investigations as the public bodies whose reputations are at risk. We also want to see more widespread measures to establish a culture of openness to ensure the truth is not hidden from the public and those involved.”