Hillsborough Law voted for by local MP

Marie Tidball, local MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, voted for the Hillsborough Law as it passed its final stage, the Third Reading, in the Commons. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, will establish a new duty of candour at inquiries, investigations, and official investigations to ensure the truth out. Dr Tidball previously made a speech in favour of the legislation at its Second Reading in November 2025.

The legislation follows the tireless campaigning of the families of the 97 who have carried the torch of justice through decades of darkness following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

The Hillsborough Law creates a new offence of ‘misleading the public’ in cases of wilful deception. Those who fail in this new duty of candour will face tough penalties including time behind bars.

The government have also heard campaigners, and further amended the Bill to extend the duty of candour it sets to individual employees of the intelligence services, subject to the necessary protections for national security.

This comes alongside the largest expansion of legal aid in the decade. This will enable families of victims to gain access to high-quality legal representation without having to beg and borrow to afford a lawyer.

Furthermore, public authorities’ use of legal representation will be restricted only to cases where it is necessary and proportionate. The conduct of legal teams at inquests will be cracked down on by the Government, by ensuring they focus on fact-finding.

This is a law for the 97, but it is also a law for the sub-postmasters who suffered because of the Horizon scandal, the victims of infected blood, and those who died in the terrible Grenfell Tower fire.

**Dr Marie Tidball, Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said: **

“Being in the Chamber to vote the Hillsborough Law through its final stage in the Commons was a moment in history, the size of which I can’t quite comprehend.

“I remember the day the Hillsborough disaster happened. My brother was a baby, and my mum was a teacher at Meynell school - a mile away from Hillsborough Stadium - at the edge of our constituency. I vividly remember watching the coverage of the horrendous tragedy, transfixed to the screen. The images of the treatment of the fans by the police are etched in my memory.

“Bereaved families turned their unimaginable loss into a fight for justice. 37 years later - my brother’s lifetime - this new law marks the beginning of a new chapter in our country’s history. It resets the balance between the state and citizens to ensure injustice has no place to hide. This is what Labour Governments do.

“Thank you to Margaret Aspinall, the brave bereaved families and the hundreds of campaigners who brought us to this moment. Thank you for your decades of work – we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”