Keir Starmer misses deadline of tragedy anniversary to bring in Hillsborough law
Craig Munro, The Metro
April 15, 2025
Keir Starmer has missed his own deadline to introduce the Hillsborough Law, after promising it would be brought in ahead of the disaster’s 36th anniversary today.
In last year’s King’s Speech, the government promised to bring forward legislation long requested by families and campaigners, which would create a duty of candour for public servants.
The campaigners argue such a move could prevent others from suffering like they did in the aftermath of the tragedy at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989.
At the 2024 Labour Party conference – which took place in Liverpool – the Prime Minister committed to introducing the law to Parliament ‘before the next anniversary in April’. This morning, he wrote in a tweet that he ‘will deliver’ his promise to bring in the legislation but added ‘we must get this legislation right’. The PM said: ‘We must make sure it achieves what the people of Liverpool have spent the past thirty-six years fighting for. ‘Standing firmly at the side of Hillsborough families, this is what my government will deliver.’
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, campaigner Margaret Aspinall said Sir Keir had told her in a phone call that the law would be introduced in time for the anniversary, but added she would not ‘knock’ him.