The Government has previously said it needed more time to finalise the Bill
Tributes at the Anfield Memorial at Anfield Stadium on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The Government remains “hopeful” an agreement on a Hillsborough Law will be reached with the families of those who died as a result of the disaster “in the coming weeks and months.” Speaking in Parliament, Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede mentioned discussions “have been going positively”, amid concerns from peers that the duty of candour aspect of the proposed legislation might be diluted.
Labour’s Baroness Chakrabarti said the families of the 97 fans who died as a result of the disaster in are feeling “less positive” about the ongoing talks with the Government. The tragedy unfolded at Sheffield’s Hillsborough Stadium during the FA Cup semi-final clash between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.
Despite Lord Justice Taylor’s initial inquiry finding the primary cause of the fatalities to be the failure of police control, the initial 1991 inquests recorded a verdict of accidental death.
After decades of fighting for the truth by families and survivors, the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report in 2012 led to the quashing of those verdicts and the holding of new inquests, which determined in April 2016 the 96 victims had been unlawfully killed and Liverpool supporters were in no way to blame.
The suggested legislation of the so called Hillsborough Law would impose a duty of candour on public authorities, obliging them to cooperate fully with official probes and be truthful following significant tragedies, with potential criminal consequences for non-compliance.
Labour had previously set a target for the Bill to be enacted before the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster this April, but this deadline has not been met. The Government has indicated additional time is required to work on the Bill.
Baroness Chakrabarti expressed her concerns about continuing delays to the bill(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Campaigners, including the Hillsborough Law Now group, have criticised a draft version of the Bill for lacking certain commitments made earlier, such as the duty of candour.
Baroness Chakrabarti expressed her concerns in the House of Lords today, Thursday July 24, saying: “I’m grateful to (the minister), as always, for repeating the Government’s commitment to introduce Hillsborough Law, but I’m afraid that the families and their representatives feel a little less positive about the engagement they had so far.
“Some worry that they’ve been briefed against to the newspapers, and generally speaking, they worry about the dilution that … Lord Storey has warned against.”
Responding to these apprehensions, Lord Ponsonby said: “I am aware of very recent interaction with the families in Liverpool, and what I understand is those talks have been going positively, and it is very much hoped that we able to reach some form of agreement in the coming weeks and months.
“Since March, we have listened to stakeholder feedback to ensure that we deliver the best Bill possible. This engagement has been constructive and progress has been made. Engagement is ongoing and will continue over the summer.”
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Storey sought assurances regarding the integrity of the proposed legislation, asking: “Would he give a clear commitment there will be no watering down of that duty of candour intent when the Bill is published?”.
In response, Lord Ponsonby said: “The Prime Minister has made a personal commitment to the affected families to work with them constructively to come up with an appropriate law.
“Regarding the duty of candour, the Government is clear that what happened following the Hillsborough disaster must never happen again. Under the Hillsborough Law, public officials will be bound by duties of candour with criminal and professional consequences.
“We are committed to achieving a true cultural change. The Bill cannot change culture on its own, but it can and should act as a catalyst, and we remain committed to launching a programme to encourage cultural change alongside the Bill.”