KEIR STARMER: 'Hillsborough Law will end the culture of obfuscation and cover-up'

I first met Margaret Aspinall when I was Director of Public Prosecutions.

Her courage, and the strength of all the Hillsborough families and survivors, is utterly breathtaking. Faced with smears and lies about their loved ones, they held onto the truth and battled for decades to prove it.

Betrayed by institutions they thought they could trust, they fought back. I’m sickened by the stories they’ve shared from their ordeal.

The way they were patronised as the establishment closed ranks to hide the truth. And the imbalance of power as the State used public money to defend its interests and act in the most intimidating way.

I’ll never forget Margaret telling me how the families scraped together every last penny just to get the most basic legal representation. Margaret herself had to accept an insurance payout of just over £1,000 after her son James’ death, to raise the money for a barrister at the original inquest.

READ MORE: Public officials face criminal sanctions for lying under long-awaited Hillsborough Law

Yet these grieving families then found themselves up against an army of state-funded lawyers, with the deep pockets of the State threatening to deny them justice.

I’ve spent my whole professional life supporting victims and their families. I’ve volunteered to represent families myself. For me, it goes to the heart of a much deeper change we need to make in this country. To change the balance of power and make the State value and respect every citizen.

It's hard to imagine when you look at the Premier League today, but back in the 1980s, football fans were viewed like second-class citizens, even hooligans and thugs.

They were looked down on by the establishment. And you see something similar in the attitude towards the victims of infected blood and grooming gangs, the postmasters and postmistresses, and the residents of Grenfell.

Time and again people’s voices have been ignored because of who they were. Because they were working class or in some way less powerful. And so shamefully, the State didn’t put the same value on their lives.

This is what the Hillsborough families have been fighting to change. It’s one of the most inspiring things about these extraordinary families, because they’ve always seen the legacy of their loved ones as a mission to help others - so no other family should suffer like them.

And it’s why my promise to deliver a Hillsborough Law goes to the heart of my politics. Because it’s about true social justice, building a fairer and more inclusive Britain where every citizen gets the respect they deserve – and the State works for the people it exists to serve.

Delivering this promise also shows the best of how I believe government should work. Lasting change can’t be achieved by flicking a switch or just promising things will be different. It requires detailed, painstaking effort and true partnership working.

It goes far beyond the walls of Whitehall, families and survivors working in partnership with government to get this right. Because this is a government in the service of working people.

The legislation we are introducing to Parliament today is a watershed in the fight for a state that treats working people with the respect they deserve. It will end, once and for all, the culture of obfuscation and cover-up, so public institutions can never again hide from those they are there to serve.

There will be a new professional and legal Duty of Candour. This will mean all public officials must act with honesty and integrity at all times. There will also be a new offence for seriously misleading the public. And I have not settled for the prospect of merely professional sanctions.

Breaching these new duties will bring the possibility of criminal prosecution. We will also deliver the largest expansion of legal aid in a decade, giving bereaved families publicly funded legal representation at inquests.

This will be combined with a legal duty on public bodies to ensure their own legal spending is always proportionate, ending the disparity by making sure both sides are on a fair and equal footing.

I am proud that the families and survivors have given us their consent to call this The Hillsborough Law. I know nothing can ever undo the years of injustice they have endured.

But I hope it can add to the already profound legacy they have created in memory of the 97. And I hope it can become a law we are proud of as a nation.

Hillsborough will always remain in our national consciousness for its tragedy and disgraceful injustice. But today it can also be remembered for the way it changed our country for the better.

Because with this law, we are changing the balance of power in Britain and ensuring that the State treats everyone with the respect they deserve.

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