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Families whose relatives were killed in disasters and who have suffered state injustice have written to Keir Starmer, accusing the government of an “insult” for failing to introduce the promised Hillsborough law in this session of parliament.
Labour has promised for almost a decade to implement the law, which will impose a “duty of candour” on the police and public authorities, but the government pulled the bill in January during its passage through parliament.
Families, including those whose relatives were killed in the 2017 terrorist bombing at the Manchester arena, insist the duty of candour must apply in full to the security services, MI5 and MI6. Starmer publicly promised again at the Labour party conference in September to introduce the law, but the government has resisted that and sought carve-outs, citing concerns about national security.
The families and their lawyers have consistently acknowledged that the security services need to keep information confidential to protect national security, but argue in cases where security services are involved, the judge or chair of the inquiry should be given all the relevant information, then determine what can safely be made public.
Starmer and other ministers held a series of meetings with families earlier this year, but without resolving this impasse over the security services.
The coalition of people campaigning for the Hillsborough law, who have signed the letter to Starmer, includes families whose relatives were killed in the arena bombing, the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and the Covid pandemic, and victims of historic injustice, including the Post Office and Windrush scandals.
In the letter they said: “Above all, we hope to ensure that families in the future do not experience the cultures of denial and defensiveness and cover-ups which we all have. The fact that Hillsborough law has still not been reintroduced to parliament is an insult to all of us who have been working so hard to get to this point.
“It has undermined our trust in this government to do what they said they would and make this legacy project a reality. We hope that, going forward, you, the prime minister and your government will listen to the people Hillsborough law is meant to protect and not those it is meant to protect us from. We have suffered enough.”
The families called on Starmer to “urge the Home Office to abandon its opposition on this issue and to meet with us urgently”.
A government source said concerns about the bill remained widespread in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Ministry of Defence, as well as the Home Office.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, was one of the 97 people killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, introduced Starmer at the party conference, but she has signed the letter in which families said they are “very disappointed” with the government.
Government sources said they were working on a new amendment to the bill that would ensure the duty of candour was applied to individuals working for the security services, saying it would go further than what was offered to the families in January. Officials said different scenarios were being “stress tested” and consulted on within government, and they hoped an agreement could be reached with the families during the next parliamentary session in order to pass the bill.
“This is a law that will change the way the country works top to bottom, we’ve got to get it right,” one official said.
A No 10 spokesperson said the prime minister held “above all other duties” his duty to keep the country safe and secure.
“We’re committed to getting this bill through parliament, we know that families have waited too long, but we have said repeatedly that we must take the time to get it right,” the spokeperson said. “Making sure that the bill is as strong as possible is a testament to their decades campaigning for justice, while never compromising national security.”
