header-logo header-logo

Fighting for truth

25 October 2024 / Jo Delahunty KC , Colin Wells
Issue: 8091 / Categories: Opinion , Public , Inquests , Criminal , Human rights , Media
printer mail-detail
194076
The Hillsborough Law is decades overdue. Colin Wells & Jo Delahunty KC explain why its provisions should be used to deliver justice to those who need protection when agencies have failed them

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

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
back-to-top-scroll