MPs Set to Pass Long-Delayed Hillsborough Law After Decades of Campaigning

The legislation, championed by Hillsborough families for years, returns to the Commons as Prime Minister Keir Starmer nears the end of his tenure in Downing Street.

The Hillsborough Law bill is expected to clear the House of Commons in an imminent vote.
The legislation would impose a statutory duty of candour on public bodies and officials.
Campaigners have pushed for the law for decades following the 1989 disaster that killed 97 Liverpool supporters.
The bill returns to parliament in Sir Keir Starmer's final days as prime minister.
Supporters say the law would prevent public bodies from covering up institutional failures.

MPs are expected to approve the Hillsborough Law this week, advancing legislation that survivors and bereaved families have demanded for decades following the 1989 stadium disaster that killed 97 people.

The bill imposes a statutory duty of candour on public bodies and officials, requiring them to act with transparency during investigations and inquests rather than mounting coordinated legal defences at public expense.

It returns to the Commons in what sources close to Downing Street describe as Sir Keir Starmer's final days as prime minister, lending the vote additional political weight after years of parliamentary delays under successive governments.

Hillsborough families and campaign groups have pressed Westminster for the measure since inquests concluded in 2016 that the 97 victims were unlawfully killed and that police failings contributed to the disaster at Sheffield's Hillsborough ground.

The bill has cross-party support in the Commons. Opponents have raised concerns about the scope of the duty of candour and its application to private contractors working on public contracts.

A Commons vote is expected before the end of the current parliamentary session. The bill would then proceed to the House of Lords.