Hillsborough Law campaigners meet PM ahead on "momentous day"
The legislation is being introduced to Parliament after months of intense discussions with Government ministers
A campaigner at the heart of the battle for the Hillsborough Law has said the legislation will leave a legacy for future generations, after meeting the Prime Minster.
Sir Keir Starmer hosted the families of the 97 Liverpool fans who died in the football tragedy in 1989 at a reception in Downing Street.
The new Public Office (Accountability) Bill is intended to make sure the authorities will face criminal sanctions if they attempt to cover up the facts behind disasters such as theHillsborough tragedy or the Grenfell Tower fire.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had previously pledged to bring in the law by the 36th anniversary of the tragedy, which was on April 15, but Downing Street then said more time was needed to redraft it.
At a meeting with some of the families of those killed at Hillsborough, Starmer acknowledged it had been a battle, with "frank" discussions continuing as his deadline passed.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, died at Hillsborough, said she is hopeful the new law "will mean no-one will ever have to suffer like we did".
"I thought this is a day that was not going to happen," she said, speaking alongside Starmer in number 10.
"This is not just about a legacy for the 97," she continued, in reference to the number of Liverpool fans who died in the tragedy.
"This is a legacy for the people of this country and I think that is the most important thing."
The Prime Minister said the courage shown by the Hillsborough campaigners had been "humbling".
He told them: "You have changed the lives not just of the families involved in all of those scandals and injustices, you are also going to change the lives of thousands of people you will never meet, who for years and years and decades and generations to come will now be able to point to what you have done and say, 'We don't have to go through that'."
Some campaigners raised fears the Bill's contents had been diluted and would not include a legal duty of candour.
But the Government has confirmed a new professional and legal duty of candour will be part of the Bill, meaning public officials must act with honesty and integrity at all times and could face criminal sanctions if they breach it.
The Hillsborough disaster led to the deaths of 97 football fans during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
The Government said the new legislation will "end the culture of cover-ups" and learn lessons from wider disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire and the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals.
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough Law Now campaign warned the Bill must not be weakened during its passage through Parliament and called on the Government to "be brave and ignore the vested interests" of those who might attempt to water it down.
Starmer said the new legislation can change "the balance of power in Britain" to ensure the state "can never hide from the people it is supposed to serve".
Sue Roberts, whose brother Graham was unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, described the Bill's introduction as "a huge step in the right direction" but said the families will be "watching closely to ensure this Bill is passed in its entirety and enacted in full".