Duty of Candour for Public Authorities and Legal Representation for Bereaved Families

Debate between Ian Byrne and Kim Johnson

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered duty of candour for public authorities and legal representation for bereaved families.

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I am here to speak about the urgent need for a statutory duty of candour and the full implementation of the Hillsborough law, and to oppose the forces that want to fight against this change.

Historically, the state has taken a defensive position to protect its own interests. From the Peterloo massacre to Bloody Sunday, Hillsborough, the Post Office scandal, Grenfell, the contaminated blood scandal and nuclear test veterans, to name but a few, the list of state cover-ups is long, exhausting and utterly shameful. So many families have been denied truth and justice because of the current system, which enables cover-ups. How and why has a system been left in place that has continually enabled the establishment to evade truth, accountability and justice for those wronged? That is a question that this place and this country should think long and hard about.

I was at the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 innocent women, children and men lost their lives and countless more lives were destroyed. It was not just a tragedy; it was a betrayal—a betrayal compounded over decades by lies, cover-ups and institutional failures.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate and for all the amazing work he has done on this subject for such a long time. Does he agree that if the Hillsborough law is not delivered as promised, it will be a massive betrayal of not only the people of Liverpool, the families and the survivors, but the whole country?

[Ian Byrne]

I agree 100%.

The then chief constable of South Yorkshire police said after the findings of the Hillsborough independent panel in 2012:

“In the immediate aftermath senior officers sought to change the record of events. Disgraceful lies were told which blamed the Liverpool fans for the disaster. Statements were altered which sought to minimise police blame.”

By that point, 23 years after Hillsborough, the game was up. Even South Yorkshire police had to admit that there had been a cover-up of the true facts on an industrial scale.

At the end of the Hillsborough processes in 2020, 31 years had passed. A jury at the inquests had found to the criminal standard of proof, beyond reasonable doubt, that those who died had been unlawfully killed by the gross negligence of the match commander. The police force involved had settled the cover-up cases, having publicly acknowledged that disgraceful lies had been deliberately told by senior officers to shift the blame from the police on to Liverpool supporters. Yet, disgracefully, no public servant or police officer has ever been convicted of any offence or even disciplined. In fact, one of the officers at the very heart of the cover-up, Norman Bettison, not only escaped sanction, but was rewarded. He received a knighthood—a title he disgracefully holds to this day. Truth, but no justice.

Would anybody in this place argue that it was right that those responsible for the 97 unlawful deaths of innocent people walked away without any consequences? I would wager not. However, 36 years after the Hillsborough cover-up, nothing has changed. The very establishments and vested interests responsible for this culture are once again looking to maintain the status quo and the ability to continue state cover-ups and deny justice to those wronged. This place, which has been at the heart of this culture and done so much to enable cover-ups, must acknowledge today that the game is up and act with clarity and moral courage to push back against those vested interests.

That is why we need a duty of candour, which was built into the proposed Hillsborough law of 2017. Establishing a legal duty of candour on public authorities, public servants and corporations that are responsible for public safety would set out a legal principle that they have to tell the truth. Is it not remarkable that that was necessary and remains so?

Children’s Hospices: Funding

Debate between Ian Byrne and Kim Johnson

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Ian Byrne]

I thank the hon. Member for that wonderful intervention; I wholeheartedly agree about what Claire House does and with his asks.

Three weeks ago, it was announced that spiralling costs meant that there was not enough money to build a planned new home for Zoe’s Place and that the baby hospice would close for good at the end of the year. It was therefore with real trepidation that we met the trustees on the Thursday after the announcement. We entered Zoe’s Place with the staff—many had been there for decades—feeling devastated after being issued with the consultation period ahead of the planned closure. At the meeting, we were desperate to find a future for Zoe’s Place. The trustees and the staff present outlined what we needed to do: raise £5 million in 30 days and then Zoe’s Place could have a future.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I thank my good friend for giving way and I congratulate him on securing this important debate. Will he join me in congratulating the wonderful community of Liverpool on its amazing work to secure nearly £5 million for Zoe’s Place? However, does he agree that instead of relying on charitable trusts to support these important hospices, we need to think about how we put them on a statutory footing to provide better end of life care for everybody?

[Ian Byrne]

I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent intervention; I wholeheartedly agree.

We had to raise £5 million in 30 days to give Zoe’s Place a future, so I asked the trustees to let us give it a shot, harnessing the spirit of the city, which has been galvanised since people heard the news, and the love for this wonderful institution. We put the call out in Liverpool, and I have never seen a response like it in my life. It has been my great city at its very best, for the world to see. We have had kids going door-knocking with fundraising buckets, raising money because one of their friends is being supported by the hospice; parents who turned to Zoe’s Place in times of need organising fundraising walks and sponsored motorbike rides; and support from MPs, such as my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) promising to carry on playing his unique take on “You’ll Never Walk Alone” on his trombone if we did not raise the funds—the city has spoken, John, and I’m saying no more. Cafés have pledged their takings to the campaign, running raffles to raise money, and local businesses have got involved, donating tens of thousands of pounds, and their time and expertise, which will never be forgotten.