Liverpool and Manchester mayors urge government to withdraw Hillsborough law amendment
In a joint statement, Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have called on the government to scrap an amendment to the Hillsborough law, citing concerns it creates too broad of an opt-out for intelligence officials. The amendment, which will be debated on Monday, would allow security officials to decide what information is released to investigators after a major incident.
The mayors warn that this would undermine the spirit of the legislation and risk allowing cover-ups. They argue that establishing the truth at the earliest opportunity is crucial in strengthening the country's defences. Rotheram and Burnham have seen devastating incidents in their regions, including Hillsborough itself, which resulted in 96 fan deaths, and would never support anything that compromises national security.
Critics of the amendment say it leaves intelligence officials with too much power to hide information behind a "vague claim of national security". The Hillsborough Law Now campaign has warned about this possibility since its draft version was made public. Elkan Abrahamson, a lawyer for the campaign, notes that this would allow heads of the security services to make whatever decision they want on whether to disclose information and leave them unchallengeable.
The amendment is just one of several changes being proposed by the government as it debates the Hillsborough Law bill. Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne has also tabled amendments aimed at ensuring duty of candour applies not only to intelligence organisations but also to individuals who work for them.
Burnham and Rotheram are urging the government to withdraw its amendment ahead of Monday's debate, instead working with campaigners to find a solution that balances national security concerns with the need to establish truth. The fate of the Hillsborough Law bill remains uncertain as it faces criticism from both campaigners and lawmakers.
In a joint statement, Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have called on the government to scrap an amendment to the Hillsborough law, citing concerns it creates too broad of an opt-out for intelligence officials. The amendment, which will be debated on Monday, would allow security officials to decide what information is released to investigators after a major incident.
The mayors warn that this would undermine the spirit of the legislation and risk allowing cover-ups. They argue that establishing the truth at the earliest opportunity is crucial in strengthening the country's defences. Rotheram and Burnham have seen devastating incidents in their regions, including Hillsborough itself, which resulted in 96 fan deaths, and would never support anything that compromises national security.
Critics of the amendment say it leaves intelligence officials with too much power to hide information behind a "vague claim of national security". The Hillsborough Law Now campaign has warned about this possibility since its draft version was made public. Elkan Abrahamson, a lawyer for the campaign, notes that this would allow heads of the security services to make whatever decision they want on whether to disclose information and leave them unchallengeable.
The amendment is just one of several changes being proposed by the government as it debates the Hillsborough Law bill. Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne has also tabled amendments aimed at ensuring duty of candour applies not only to intelligence organisations but also to individuals who work for them.
Burnham and Rotheram are urging the government to withdraw its amendment ahead of Monday's debate, instead working with campaigners to find a solution that balances national security concerns with the need to establish truth. The fate of the Hillsborough Law bill remains uncertain as it faces criticism from both campaigners and lawmakers.
these mayors are literally fighting for our rights to know the TRUTH behind those heinous crimes 
like hillsborough was a total travesty & we need answers NOW!! 
the gov is trying to water down the law so that they can just sweep everything under the rug & I am SO not having it!!! 
we deserve better than some faceless intel officials deciding what info gets released or not. it's like, helloooo accountability is key!!! 
if these mayors are willing to stand up for us then maybe gov should listen & just scrap this amendment already!! 
I'm not sure about this one... If the government is proposing this amendment, isn't there like, evidence or something that says these heads of security services would actually hide info? 
Like, what's the source on this? Is it just some claims from campaigners? Can we see a study or a report that backs up their claim? And how do they know that leaving intelligence officials with too much power to decide would lead to cover-ups? I need more context here... 
. So these mayors from Liverpool and Manchester are asking the government to scrap this amendment thingy that's gonna let security officials hide info from investigators after a major incident. Like, what even is the point of having a law if it just lets them play dumb? 
And the worst part is, they're saying this would compromise national security... yeah right, like that's not what intelligence services are for 
. And don't even get me started on the "vague claim of national security" excuse - sounds like just an excuse to cover their own backsides to me 
. If these security officials can just claim national security and hide info, that's just not right 
. And what if they're hiding something bad? That would be super concerning 
. We should be able to know what's going on, especially after a big incident like Hillsborough 
. We need to make sure we're being transparent and honest, especially after something like Hillsborough happens. I'd rather see them work with campaigners to find a balance between security and truth 
We all know how important transparency is in situations like Hillsborough – we need to figure out what went wrong so we can prevent it from happening again 
Can we trust them to do what's best for us? 
And all this talk about "covering up"... it's always something. Can't they just keep the truth to themselves and let us figure it out ourselves? 
And now they're talking about allowing the security services to decide what info to release? that's just a recipe for disaster. Interesting 
how this is all tied up with national security and the government's 'vague claim of national security' 
steve & andy r right 2 speak out against this amendment, we need transparency 2 build trust in our gov 
... I mean, who benefits from this amendment? They're trying to sweep things under the rug, make it easier for security officials to cover up mistakes. It's not about national security, it's about power and control 
. Can't trust our government to act in the best interests of us all 
if they wanna keep us safe then they need to make sure we're protected from ppl trying to sweep it under the rug 
This amendment would basically let them decide who gets the truth and who doesn't, which is just not right. We've seen some pretty shady stuff in our history, like Hillsborough, so it's up to us to learn from that and make sure we don't repeat the same mistakes.
What do you guys think? Should we be pushing for transparency or not? 
. If security officials can just claim "national security" to keep info under wraps, that's a big no-no 
. Rotheram and Burnham are on the right track by speaking out against this amendment, but I'm not convinced it'll pass 
. We need a solution that works for all parties involved 
.
. It's like they're trying to cover up stuff instead of telling the truth