Hillsborough Law row as Liverpool families back Arena campaigners

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

Transcript

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.