Charlotte Hennessy, whose father was killed in the 1989 disaster, has warned that today is the final chance to save the landmark legislation
Charlotte Hennessy, whose father was killed in the 1989 disaster, has warned that today is the final chance to save the landmark legislation
A key member of the Hillsborough families, who lost her dad at the 1989 disaster, has warned that the government has until today (Friday, January 16) to tackle an ongoing row over a landmark new law, or face losing the support of those who have campaigned for it.
Charlotte Hennessy, whose dad James was unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, was one of a number of Hillsborough Law campaigners to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday this week for urgent talks over a major obstacle with the new Hillsborough Law that is making its way through Parliament.
The new law aims to introduce a duty of candour on public officials, with criminal sanctions if they are found to have lied or misled the public. Sir Keir has repeatedly pledged to bring in the new law and has said it will not be watered down.
But there is a major row over what campaigners have called a “carve out” for the intelligence and community services following an amendment put forward by the government. This would effectively exempt organisations like MI5 from the duty of candour, meaning the head of that service could decide when information should or should not be revealed.
The row over this element of the legislation saw a key vote at the Bill’s committee stage delayed from Wednesday of this week to Monday, allowing families and campaigners to meet with the Prime Minister for urgent talks in London yesterday.
But those talks did not end in a resolution, with campaigners warning that they will not be able to support the bill in its current form unless changes are made before Monday’s vote.
But while a lot of the frustration for this week’s events have been aimed at the Prime Minister, Ms Hennessy, a key figure in the Hillsborough Law campaign, praised Sir Keir for his efforts so far and urged him to get the bill over the line.
She said: “I think it needs to be recognised that the Prime Minister has worked closely with us, he does listen, he does care. This is not the Prime Minister, this is the intelligence services, who are putting him between a rock and a hard place. He has met with us countless times and there is always correspondence between his team and ours.
“When he learnt that we were not happy with this final amendment, he pulled the report stage and we need to acknowledge that. I think it is unfair that the Prime Minister is getting all the abuse for this. He has worked tirelessly with us and he has not faltered on that.
“We are exhausted, all of us. There is a lot on the line, the reputation of the Prime Minister and his government. We have all made a pledge to this and all of us collectively are trying to see it through in its entirety. It is the intelligence services who are saying they won’t comply with it.”
Ms Hennessy, who was just six-years-old when her father was unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, said she personally asked the Prime Minister to come back with a detailed explanation as to why the intelligence services has concerns related to the new law.
She added: “I did say to him that I feel that if we couldn’t come to an agreement in the 48 hours after the meeting until Friday to look at this amendment again. That is the crucial stage we are at now.
“I’m not here to sway people’s political views. We would never give information that is untrue. I believe the Prime Minister is genuine. There is a lot on the line for this man. This is a hurdle and a challenge and something we need to work together to come to an agreement on.”
She added: “The bill already in place is 95% in its entirety, we need to get this amendment over the line and then we will have achieved what we set out to do and that would be absolutely amazing.”
“We don’t want to fail other bereaved families. But I still have confidence in the Prime Minister, I believe in him.”
But she warned: “I cannot back that amendment and I won’t be forced into backing it, as much as I appreciate the hard work put in by everyone, we won’t back down as a collective group on this and the Prime Minister knows that. He knows he only has until Friday, I told him that.”
Labour MP Ian Byrne, a Hillsborough survivor, has said that in its current form, he would have to vote against the current legislation on Monday, something he would find “soul destroying”.
