In July 2026, MPs voted to approve the Hillsborough Law, a landmark piece of legislation that imposes a legal duty on public officials to tell the truth and co-operate with official investigations – a direct response to the cover-ups that followed the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. The bill, formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, had been stalled for months over wrangling about how the duty of candour applies to the intelligence services, but a series of last-minute amendments broke the deadlock. It will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before it can become law.
The law takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed 97 lives after a crush during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium on 15 April 1989. In the aftermath, police leaders spread false narratives blaming Liverpool fans, withheld evidence of their own failings, and the families of the victims spent decades fighting for the truth. Fresh inquests in 2016 found the fans had been unlawfully killed and that police had caused or contributed to their deaths. The campaign for a legal duty of candour – requiring public authorities to be honest during inquiries – became a long-standing cause for both outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his expected successor, Andy Burnham.
“The Hillsborough Law imposes a duty of candour on public officials to prevent cover-ups after state failures.”
For UK readers, the Hillsborough Law matters because it aims to prevent the pattern of state cover-ups that has emerged in other major scandals, including the Grenfell Tower fire, the Manchester Arena bombing, the infected blood scandal, and grooming gangs. As Burnham put it in the Commons, the bill is “truly a rewiring of the state” that passes power from authorities to ordinary people. Under the new law, public officials who lie or evade during official investigations could face prosecution. The legislation also ensures that bereaved families and survivors are entitled to parity of legal representation and public funding during inquests and inquiries – something that was previously denied to Hillsborough families while public money funded government lawyers.
Q: What is the Hillsborough Law? The Hillsborough Law – officially the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – is a law that imposes a legally enforceable duty of candour on public officials, requiring them to tell the truth and co-operate with official investigations and inquiries into state failures. It also gives victims and families equal access to legal funding during such proceedings.
Q: Why was the Hillsborough Law needed? The law was needed because after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, police and other authorities spread false narratives about the tragedy, withheld evidence, and the families had to fight for decades to uncover the truth. The law aims to prevent such cover-ups in future and ensure public institutions are held accountable.
Q: How will the Hillsborough Law affect ordinary people? The law means that if a public body is involved in a disaster or state-related death, officials must be transparent and honest during inquiries. It also gives bereaved families the right to publicly funded legal representation, leveling the playing field between them and the state.
