UK set to pass Hillsborough Law imposing legal duty of candour
British MPs are poised to pass a law forcing public officials and intelligence agencies to tell the truth in inquiries, permanently altering state transparency in the UK.
The House of Commons is expected to approve the Public Office (Accountability) Bill next Tuesday, clearing the path for the legislation to receive royal assent by the autumn. The bill creates a strict legal duty for public officials to tell the truth during investigations and public inquiries.
Its passage follows a months-long dispute over whether intelligence agencies would be granted an exemption. A government source confirmed that ministers have now agreed to a new amendment ensuring the duty of candour fully applies to the intelligence services without compromising national security.
For the UK economy and the companies operating within it, this legislation fundamentally rewrites the rules of engagement between the state and independent investigations. It removes the structural advantages that previously allowed public bodies to obscure their failings, ensuring a more predictable and transparent regulatory and legal environment when state actions are scrutinised.
The law is a direct response to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, where a crush at an FA Cup semi-final killed 97 people. Police subsequently spread false narratives blaming Liverpool fans and withheld evidence of their own failures. Fresh inquests in 2016 found the fans were unlawfully killed and that police caused or contributed to their deaths.
The scope of the bill was widened following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. Bereaved families lobbied Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer after a public inquiry found MI5 had not given an "accurate picture" of the intelligence it held on the suicide bomber. Campaigners successfully resisted a proposed government amendment that would have allowed intelligence agency heads to opt out of cooperating with inquiries if they deemed it a national security risk.
Pete Weatherby KC, director of Hillsborough Law Now, said the government has accepted there will be no carve-outs. "All relevant ministers have personally signed off on what will be landmark changes to public accountability and bring an end to official cover-ups," he said.
Hillsborough survivor and MP Ian Byrne said he was "absolutely delighted, and above all relieved" that the law had been secured. "This is a lasting legacy for the 97, for the survivors, the bereaved families, and for every person who has suffered at the hands of the state and been denied truth and justice," he said.
Andy Burnham, a long-standing supporter of the Hillsborough families, said the bill's return marks "a major moment in the long fight to end the cover-up culture and secure a country based on truth, justice and accountability." A government source said the legislation represents an "overwhelming victory" that will "fundamentally change the balance of power so the state can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve."
