The Public Authority (Accountability) Bill—aka the Hillsborough Law—was introduced to the House of Commons in 2017 by former MP Andy Burnham.
It is an important law, which aims to: set a requirement on public institutions, public servants and officials to act in the public interest and with candour and frankness; define the public law duty on them to assist courts, official inquiries and investigations; create criminal offences for the breach of certain duties; enable victims to enforce such duties; and provide public funding for victims and their relatives in certain proceedings before the courts and at official inquiries and investigations.
The need for such a Bill, based on the findings of the 2017 Bishop James Jones report, to become law has been recognised by many. In the powerful words of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign: ‘It’s time for a law that will criminalise lying to the British public,
