Hillsborough Law in chaos as PM cancels summit with families

Keir Starmer has scrapped a summit with Hillsborough families amid fury over his promised truth and justice law.

The Prime Minister was due to meet tonight with campaigners over fears that a bill to protect victims of disasters had been watered down by officials.

But 48 hours after arranging the showdown, Downing Street cancelled it amid a growing party row that has left the legislation in tatters.

Those due to meet the PM were unaware the meeting was off until told by the Mirror, because the letter informing them had gone in the post.

One said: “One minute they were telling us we’d have to put up with the law they’ve written, the next they said the PM would meet us to discuss it, and a day later the whole thing’s off and they say they’re ‘reflecting’.

“Our best hope now is that they scrap everything, sit down with us and start again. Because this feels like we’re in an out-of-control clown car.”

After a crush caused by police negligence at the Hillsborough Stadium in 1989, authorities blamed Liverpool fans for drunken hooliganism. It was not until 2016 that fresh inquests uncovered the truth - that junior officers were ordered to lie by senior police.

The Hillsborough Law was first introduced to Parliament by Andy Burnham a year later, with legislation drafted by a leading barrister. It provided a duty of candour for all public officials, backed by criminal sanctions, so that never again would justice be blocked by public servants covering up wrongdoing.

It also provided for legal aid to give the bereaved “parity of arms” when battling major institutions, but a general election was called and it never became law.

Starmer twice promised the Labour Party conference he would reintroduce it, and vowed to have the bill ready by April 15, the 36th anniversary of the tragedy. But officials have written a new version, with loopholes that make the duty of candour a voluntary code of conduct, with criminal sanctions only when giving evidence at inquiries or inquests. Legal aid has been limited to victims of terror attacks, deaths in police custody, and local authority wrongdoing.

There were also broad exemptions for national security, even though such claims have been used to hide the truth about experiments on nuclear test veterans, the Battle of Orgreave, and the Manchester Arena bombing. Campaigners had threatened to withdraw their support entirely after seeing the bill, which was drafted by civil servants and lawyers who usually defend the state against claims of wrongdoing.

A Labour source said: “This has caused fury in the party, and no-one listened to the families until the last minute. Keir delegated it and took his eye off the ball. Had that bill gone to Parliament, we’d end up losing seats to Reform in the reddest bit of the country. There’s a by-election in a month. Whoever was in charge of this should be fired out of a cannon.”

The last-minute change came following a call between the PM and one of the principal campaigners. Ministers have now told families they have “heard their concerns” and are keen to reset relations. It is hoped there will be a new push to use the original legislation to prevent meddling, and that it can still be introduced to Parliament before the anniversary.

A spokesman for Hillsborough Law Now said: “We are still working with the government to make this bill the best that it can be.”

Downing Street declined to comment but confirmed the meeting had been postponed.