Hillsborough campaigners blame Mahmood for law delay

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.

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.

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."

Hennessy met Starmer in Downing Street alongside other campaigners, including Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James at Hillsborough, to discuss the legislation.

"I had a promise from Starmer when he was leader of the opposition. So how long does it take?," Aspinall said.

Campaigners accused the prime minister of indecision over the disputed amendment.

"I think the prime minister needs to pick a lane. He made the pledge to ensure a Hillsborough Law on multiple occasions.

Both to myself and to Margaret Aspinall, personally," she said.

"He has also met many of the victims from multiple campaigns, and he has heard from their own mouths what they have been through.

"He should be advocating for them."

Sue Roberts, whose 24-year-old brother Graham died at Hillsborough, said: "Why does the home secretary have the power to control this? Surely the PM is running the country?

"He needs to do the right thing. If necessary he should pull rank.

"We're not doing this for us, this is for the good of the nation and people who are blocking this won't even explain to us what their concerns are."

The BBC understands that the Hillsborough Law campaign's legal team will be in parliament next week to meet MPs in an effort to break the deadlock and galvanise support.

Barrister Pete Weatherby KC, who is a director of the campaign group, told the BBC: "The government has now made it impossible to pass the Hillsborough Law within this parliamentary session.

"They have timed us out. Even if we resolve things soon, there isn't time for it to progress through the House of Lords in time."

Weatherby added: "The government has withdrawn its own proposal on how the bill applies to the security services but won't adopt ours, or tell us what they think is wrong with it. The impasse is on their side, not with the families or campaign."

Campaigners hope the bill will finally be passed in the autumn, and the BBC has been told that ministers were committed to carrying it over into the next parliamentary session.

A government spokesperson said: "The Hillsborough disaster will remain in our national consciousness for its tragedy and disgraceful injustice.

"New legislation will ensure the state must always act for the people it serves by preventing cover-ups and ensuring accountability in public office.

"It will apply to the intelligence services and must protect our national security.

"As we have done throughout this process, we are taking the time to get this right and ensuring we never compromise on national security."

Asked why Mahmood had turned down a meeting with the families, a Home Office spokesperson said discussions were "ongoing" with the attorney general, bill ministers and Hillsborough Law officials and that was the "appropriate forum" for those conversations.

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