What is the Hillsborough Law? The 'all or nothing' legislation explained

Yahoo

08-04-2025

As the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster approaches, campaigners have said a law promised by the government to prevent future cover-ups of such tragedies must not be watered down.
The Inquest charity said the legislation must be presented to Parliament "without dilution or caveat", following concerns that changes to the bill could raise the threshold of accountability.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously pledged to introduce the so-called 'Hillsborough Law' before this year's anniversary of the tragedy, which took place on 15 April 1989.
It is expected to include a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively co-operate with official investigations and inquiries – with the potential for criminal sanctions for officials or organisations which mislead or obstruct investigations.
However, campaigners are understood to be concerned over whom the duty of candour will apply, and are calling on the government to provide reassurance.
Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the football stadium crowd-crush, said: 'After hearing the stories of all the other families fighting for justice, I am more determined than ever to demand that the Hillsborough Law presented to Parliament is all or nothing.
'This is the legacy of families and survivors – the bill has got to be right.'
Here, Yahoo News looks at the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster and what has been said so far about the law promised by Labour.
Survivors and the families of those who died have been involved in a lengthy campaign in pursuit of justice.
On its website, the Hillsborough Law Now campaign group sets out two key criteria for the law it wants to see put in place:
Create a new legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively cooperate with official investigations and inquiries - bringing to an end the depressingly familiar pattern of cover ups and concealment.
Ensure victims of disasters or state-related deaths are entitled to parity of legal representation during inquests and inquiries. This will mean that This will mean that bereaved families can get public funding, just as public money is used to support government and public authority lawyers.
In a report bringing together 'powerful voices of bereaved families, victims and survivors of some of the worst failings of public services and the legal system in the UK', Inquest has re-stated the need for a strong and watertight law.
Other major campaign groups including Grenfell United and Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) have backed Inquest's call.
In the report, Inquest director Deborah Coles says the law 'must be 'all or nothing', without dilution or caveat, to ensure the response to contentious deaths, harms and grave injustices dramatically improves'.
She says that while a delay in a bill being introduced to Parliament by the anniversary would be "disappointing", it is important that the proposed legislation fully meets campaigners' expectations.
Last week, the government confirmed that the Hillsborough Law will not be implemented before the next anniversary of the disaster, as "more time is needed" to draft the legislation, Sky News reported.
A source close to the discussions told the outlet that the legislation in its current form was an "absolute mess", with a number of loopholes that would leave the duty of candour "useless and ineffective".
Last month, it was reported that a meeting between Sir Keir and campaigners had been cancelled, with claims officials were attempting to have the contents of a bill watered down.
In an update last week, Commons leader Lucy Powell said the Government will take 'whatever time is necessary' to develop a law which 'meets the expectations' of the Hillsborough families.
She told MPs that the 'most important issue at this time is to ensure that the legislation reflects the full range of concerns and experiences, and meets the expectations of the families'.
'I think the very worst thing we can do at this point in time is to not meet those expectations when all of the trust and issues there are about the state failing to live up to those expectations of the families," she added.
'So we are working on the bill at pace, but we will take whatever time is necessary to work collaboratively with the families and their representatives, because getting that legislation right is actually our overwhelming priority at this time, I'm sure she can understand that.'
Last Tuesday building safety minister Alex Norris told a committee of MPs that there will be an update 'coming imminently' and that the calls for improvements on the law "have been understood".
Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
More than 50,000 men, women and children travelled to stadium, where just minutes after kick-off, a fatal crush occurred in the Leppings Lane end terraces, where the Liverpool fans were located.
Some media reporting focused on unfounded allegations that Liverpool fans' drunken behaviour caused the disaster and hindered the emergency response, but this has been "disproved many times", the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
In 1991, a jury returned a verdict of accidental death at the end of an inquest, but in December 2012, the High Court quashed the original verdicts and ordered fresh inquests.
It followed years of demands from campaigners for new inquests to be held, and the government setting up a Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2009 to review the evidence.
The fresh inquests began in March 2014, where jurors heard evidence about the stadium's design, police preparation and the overall emergency response, with at least one medical expert saying some of the victims could have been saved if earlier interventions were made.
Two years later, in April 2016, the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing for the then 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives and concluded that the fans played no role in causing the disaster.
Jurors found that 'errors and omissions' by South Yorkshire Police contributed to the deaths, while the response of South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance also contributed to the disaster.
In 2021, Andrew Devine, who died aged 55 at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, was confirmed as the 97th victim of the tragedy.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which began investigations into the disaster in 2013, said in March 2025 that although officers tried to 'deflect blame' they do not have a case to answer for misconduct.
In a letter to families, the police watchdog said: 'We found no evidence to support claims that the behaviour of supporters was a contributing factor.
'In the majority of cases, we were unable to find that officers had a case to answer for misconduct because the professional standards for policing at the time did not include a specific duty of candour.
'Despite the wider public interest to gain answers about what happened, South Yorkshire Police was entitled, within the law at the time, to present its 'best case' and be selective with the evidence it presented.'
Government will miss its own deadline to bring in Hillsborough Law (Sky News)
Fury among families after senior Hillsborough officers absolved by police watchdog (The Guardian)
'He gave so much' - the Hillsborough dad who refused to bow to injustice (The Liverpool Echo)