Jo Gideon: Why it is past time for Parliament to pass the Hillsborough Law

Jo Gideon is Chair WhistleblowersUK and the former Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central.

Every scandal about politicians that hits the headlines reduces the public’s already limited faith in our institutions and elected Members. Public confidence is at an all-time low.

The repercussions of Angela Rayner’s spectacular fall from grace will be far-reaching, and not just for the Labour Party. The mantra “they’re all as bad as each other” clears the path for those untested parties and political commentators to woe the electorate with a wish list of what the country would look like if someone better were in charge.

The failure of the State to protect ordinary people was a theme throughout last week’s Westminster Hall debate on The Duty of Candour, led by lan Byrne MP, who has tirelessly championed the introduction of the Hillsborough Law. It was very well attended with twenty-one speaker requests plus many interventions.

However no Conservative backbenchers spoke, and there was only lukewarm support from the shadow minister. The Conservatives are not widely regarded as the Party that champions social justice; this lack of engagement in a debate about support for families fighting for the truth and the accountability of the State and public servants is deeply disappointing.

The courageous battle of the families of the 97 tragic victims of the Hillsborough disaster, who have waited 36 years for justice continues. The Hillsborough Law, promised in the Labour Manifesto to be delivered by the anniversary on 15 April 2025, has still not been brought forward.

During the debate, the minister said that there is still no timeline because the Government is concentrating on “getting it right”. This is code for: it is unaffordable, and the Hillsborough families will (rightly) not accept a watered-down version. The Government has been warned that it will not be welcomed in Liverpool for Labour Party Conference this year if it continues to delay the promised legislation.

The Hillsborough Law will place a legal requirement of those in public services to tell the truth (a duty of candour) as well as ensuring access to funds for the families who take on the State to prevent cover-ups, as we have seen in so many national scandals.

Whistleblowers speak out with the expectation that employers, regulators, law enforcement, and employment tribunals will take action to address their whistleblowing (protected disclosures). The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) was introduced through a Private Member’s Bill led by Sir Richard Shepherd, former MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, in 1998. It was brought in following disasters including Piper Alpha to encourage informed insiders – ‘whistleblowers’ – to bring forward information about wrongdoing to help protect the public from fraud and harm.

However, in 27 years, not a single case has been passed to law enforcement to investigate the allegations or evidence of wrongdoing.

It’s time to give the public and whistleblowers the protection they deserve and take on those whose negligence or wrongdoing put us all at risk. The solution is supported by the authors of ‘Hillsborough Law’ and can be achieved in one simple move: the Office of the Whistleblower, proposals for which are contained in an “oven ready” bill which has cross-party support. Five MP from the three main parties have brought forward Private Member’s Bills, but they have stalled as successive governments are not minded to support it.

At the same time there is a consensus in parliament that whenever a new miscarriage of justice or national scandal occurs, the State must ensure it never happens again. As well as the obvious moral imperative to protect the public from avoidable harms by early intervention, there is an economic imperative too: the estimated cost of economic crime and financial opacity to the British economy is £350 billion per annum.

The introduction of the Hillsborough Law will be an important first step in redressing the balance of power between those who speak out and the institutions that seek to suppress the truth. While it goes some way towards normalising speaking up, it doesn’t address people’s real fear of retaliation.

That’s why WhistleblowersUK, as well as supporting a duty of candour, continues to lead the campaign for an Office of the Whistleblower, to provide proper protection for those who speak out.