Hillsborough campaigners blame home secretary for delay in law
The PM met family members of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster last year Hillsborough Law campaigners have accused Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood of being personally behind further delays to the long-promised legislation. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged to pass the legislation by 15 April 2025, to mark the 36th anniversary of the disaster, but it will not go through before the current session of parliament ends in May.
Charlotte Hennessy, whose father Jimmy died in the 1989 disaster, said she felt Mahmood, who declined to meet relatives in recent weeks, was being "obstructive" over a proposed amendment about the security services. The government said it wanted to take the time to get the law right, while also ensuring national security was not compromised.
The new law, designed to stop cover ups, would create a legal duty for public authorities to co-operate with and tell the truth to inquiries. The BBC has learned ministers have not met with representatives of victims of the disaster since January, when a final debate on the bill was pulled following a backlash over how far it would apply to intelligence officers.
In an email to the home secretary, shown to the BBC, campaigners said "a number of different sources" had told them that she was "opposed" to an amendment, put forward by Liverpool MP Ian Byrne, designed to prevent the security services from misleading public inquiries, and that was why the bill had not been brought back to parliament.
Charlotte Hennessy says it is "common knowledge" in government that Mahmood is "the issue" Members of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign said they were told the final outstanding issues around the bill would be resolved by last Friday. But Hennessy told the BBC: "The Home Secretary is being obstructive.
"She is not willing to even sit and have a conversation with us, and yet she is the cabinet minister for MI5. So, how can we move forward?" An email seen by the BBC showed that Mahmood had declined to meet relatives of the Hillsborough victims in recent weeks, saying discussions would instead continue with other ministers.
The families have fought a long-running campaign for a new law Hennessy added: "It is common knowledge amongst the government that the home secretary is the issue. "We have tried to remain respectful and patient, but it has got to a stage now where I have argued the case of the victims within the group.
"We have always prided ourselves on our integrity and in not being afraid to call individuals out, so why should this be any different?" Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, who was at Hillsborough in 1989 and has been in close, regular touch with bereaved families, told Politics North West he had "real concerns if the home secretary is blocking the advancement of the law".
"I think it would be really good for us all to sit down – myself, the campaigners, the families, the lawyers – and if there is an issue that she wants to bring forward, we can discuss it and debate it and find a way forward." An email seen by the BBC shows Mahmood declined to meet relatives of Hillsborough victims in recent weeks