Labour's Hillsborough law faces threat of rebellion as talks with families break down over duty of candour for intelligence officers.
Keir Starmer, Labour leader, is facing a potential crisis after talks with families affected by the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing broke down. The issue is over the proposed "duty of candour" law, which aims to enforce honesty from public officials and contractors in the wake of disasters.
However, some families feel that the current proposals do not go far enough, particularly when it comes to protecting serving intelligence officers. They want individual officers to be required to give evidence without fear of reprisal or being able to veto their testimony due to national security concerns.
This concern stems from the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing inquiry, where MI5's actions were widely criticized for being misleading and withholding crucial information that could have prevented the attack. Caroline Curry, whose son Liam died in the bombing, described this lack of transparency as "torture" for her family.
Starmer was said to be receptive during talks with families but ultimately unable to satisfy their demands. The Labour party's stance has been weakened by some MPs rebelling against the bill due to concerns over national security. A Labour MP who submitted an amendment for the law to apply to individual intelligence service officers said it would be "the saddest moment of my political life" if he couldn't back the legislation.
Government sources claim that Starmer is committed to working with families to strengthen the bill, but some argue that the proposals are still too lenient. Pete Weatherby KC, a director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, warned that the government's current stance risks allowing "lies and cover-ups" from intelligence agencies to occur again.
As a result, the Labour party's plans for the Hillborough law have been put on hold, with the bill now expected to be delayed until next week. The government remains committed to passing the legislation but is working to address family concerns over national security safeguards.
Keir Starmer, Labour leader, is facing a potential crisis after talks with families affected by the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing broke down. The issue is over the proposed "duty of candour" law, which aims to enforce honesty from public officials and contractors in the wake of disasters.
However, some families feel that the current proposals do not go far enough, particularly when it comes to protecting serving intelligence officers. They want individual officers to be required to give evidence without fear of reprisal or being able to veto their testimony due to national security concerns.
This concern stems from the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing inquiry, where MI5's actions were widely criticized for being misleading and withholding crucial information that could have prevented the attack. Caroline Curry, whose son Liam died in the bombing, described this lack of transparency as "torture" for her family.
Starmer was said to be receptive during talks with families but ultimately unable to satisfy their demands. The Labour party's stance has been weakened by some MPs rebelling against the bill due to concerns over national security. A Labour MP who submitted an amendment for the law to apply to individual intelligence service officers said it would be "the saddest moment of my political life" if he couldn't back the legislation.
Government sources claim that Starmer is committed to working with families to strengthen the bill, but some argue that the proposals are still too lenient. Pete Weatherby KC, a director of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, warned that the government's current stance risks allowing "lies and cover-ups" from intelligence agencies to occur again.
As a result, the Labour party's plans for the Hillborough law have been put on hold, with the bill now expected to be delayed until next week. The government remains committed to passing the legislation but is working to address family concerns over national security safeguards.
I mean I get why families want those intelligence officers to feel safe but can't they see how this is affecting everything else?? like we're still dealing with trauma from Hillsborough and Manchester Arena and now we're putting more stress on the families by not making sure that everyone's protected? I'm literally dying over here thinking about Caroline Curry's experience with Liam... it's just so heartbreaking 
. I get that there are some sensitive issues around intelligence officers, but shouldn't we be prioritizing transparency and accountability? It feels like the government and Labour party are dancing around the truth again 
. Can't we just have honesty and openness from our public officials? 
The fact that some MPs are rebelling over national security concerns is really concerning - what's more important, safety or secrecy? 
This whole thing feels like a mess... let's hope they can get it together and make things right 
.
it's like, you'd think we'd be way further along on getting some answers and accountability for those who are supposed to keep us safe. 
the fact that some families feel the current proposals don't go far enough is totally valid, especially when it comes to protecting serving officers from having their testimony withheld due to national security concerns... 
. Maybe it's time for a reality check? 
First, you think you've got everything covered, then some family comes along and says "nope, not good enough". I mean, I get where the families are comin' from, especially after what happened in Manchester. It's like they're sayin', "Hey, we want the truth, no matter what". But at the same time, you don't wanna put serving officers in a situation where they can be bullied or intimidated into not tellin' the whole truth. 
when people in power can't seem to agree on what's best for those affected by tragedy 
it's like they're being pitted against each other instead of working together to make things right 
as a society, we should be supporting these families more, not making them fight for justice over and over again 
... I get that national security is a thing, but can't we find a way to balance it with the need for honesty? 
... Delaying the bill until next week just feels like kicking the can down the road 
... Something's gotta give here 
Pete Weatherby KC makes a good point – if we don't strengthen the bill, we risk allowing lies and cover-ups to happen again.
i mean, families are already dealing with trauma and grief, and now they're trying to get some honesty out of the government? it's like asking for too much from someone who can barely remember their password 
but seriously tho, if we cant trust our intelligence agencies to be transparent, how can we expect them to keep us safe? its a tough one
. The fact that some families are saying the current proposals aren't good enough is really worrying, especially when you consider what happened back in 2017 
But what do I know, I'm just a newbie on this whole politics thing 
. I mean, you'd think that with all the scrutiny going on, Labour would be able to get something done that makes everyone feel comfortable. But nope, instead we're stuck in limbo and it's just causing more drama.
.
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: transparency + no reprisal 
. But then we gotta worry 'bout nats sec 
. It's like, can't we find a happy medium? 
. I mean, we don't wanna let liars get away with it 
? 
. We need stronger laws, not ones that let "lies and cover-ups" slide again... what happened to accountability, I ask you?! 
this whole thing is so frustrating... i mean, can't we just get it right for once? 
we need to make sure that everyone, including public officials and contractors, is held accountable for their actions after disasters.