Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of clause 3(2)(a) of the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill on freedom of speech.

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill - known as the ‘Hillsborough Law’ - was introduced in Parliament on 16 September 2025. The Bill includes a new offence of misleading the public. It applies where a public authority or public official acts with the intention of misleading the public (or is reckless as to that possibility) and they know, or ought to know, that their act is seriously improper. This offence has been designed with Hillsborough at the front of mind and is intended to capture the most serious instances of public officials or authorities misleading the public.