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Campaigners warn proposed law could still allow state cover-ups, echoing Hillsborough injustices

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00:00A law born out of the Hillsborough disaster is now at the centre of a fresh political
00:05row with strong implications for families here on Merseyside.
00:09The proposed Hillsborough law, formerly known as the Public Office Accountability Bill,
00:13is designed to introduce a legal duty of candour requiring public officials to act openly and
00:19honestly during inquiries and investigations.
00:22It follows decades of campaigning by Hillsborough families after 97 football fans lost their
00:26lives in 1989, and police were later found to have spread false narratives and withheld
00:31evidence.
00:32Families bereaved by the Manchester Arena bombing say the current draft risks repeating those
00:37same failures.
00:39A public inquiry found MI5 did not provide an accurate picture of the intelligence it held
00:44on the attacker, who killed 22 people and injured hundreds in 2017.
00:49Campaigners argue that unless the law applies fully, powerful institutions could still avoid
00:53scrutiny.
00:54The government has tabled amendments that would place a duty of candour on MI5, MI6 and
01:00GCHQ personnel, but would allow agency chiefs to review and determine how information from
01:05agents is shared, citing national security.
01:08The Hillsborough Law Now campaign says that creates a loophole, warning that serious failures
01:13could be hidden behind broad security claims.
01:15Ministers say they have gone as far as possible without endangering the public, and insist the
01:20services would face unprecedented oversight.
01:22Critics, including Liverpool MPs, say accountability must be universal to mean anything at all.
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