Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Hillsborough Law): What It Means for Victims, Survivors and Bereaved Families 

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as Hillsborough Law, was introduced to Parliament in September 2025. The Bill has been shaped by decades of campaigning by the Hillsborough families and survivors, alongside people affected by other major incidents.  

At its heart, the Bill is about a simple principle: when public bodies make mistakes, victims and families should be told the truth, treated fairly, and not have to fight for years to get answers. 

Why is this Bill needed? 

Many families affected by major incidents have described facing: 

• Delays in getting information. 

• Public bodies protecting their own reputations rather than helping uncover the truth. 

• Unequal access to legal representation. 

• Long and distressing investigations, inquests and inquiries. 

• A lack of accountability when officials fail to act honestly. 

The Hillsborough disaster and the years-long struggle for truth and justice became a powerful example of why many believe reform is needed. 

What would the Bill do? 

A legal duty to tell the truth 

The Bill would introduce a statutory duty of candour across public authorities and public officials. 

In practice, this means public bodies and their staff would be required to: 

• Act honestly and openly. 

• Provide all relevant information during investigations, inquiries and inquests. 

• Assist investigations fully and truthfully. 

• Put the public interest before protecting their organisation’s reputation. 

For victims, survivors and bereaved families, this could help ensure that important information is disclosed earlier and that investigations are not hindered by avoidable delays or defensive behaviour. 

New consequences for cover-ups and dishonesty 

The Bill would make it a criminal offence for public officials to withhold information, fail to cooperate with an investigation, or otherwise stop investigators getting to the truth.  This would apply where someone intentionally blocks an inquiry or is reckless as to whether their actions prevent the facts from being uncovered. 

Clearer accountability for public officials 

The Bill would replace the existing common law offence of misconduct in a public office with new statutory offences. 

These include offences relating to: 

• Seriously improper conduct by public office holders. 

• Breaches of duties designed to prevent death or serious injury. 

The intention is to make the law clearer and provide stronger mechanisms for accountability where serious wrongdoing occurs. 

Fairer access to justice for bereaved families 

The Bill would facilitate access to non-means tested legal aid for bereaved families involved in inquests where a public authority is an interested person.   

This addresses a long-standing imbalance in which families have often had to represent themselves, fund legal representation privately, or rely on fundraising, while public bodies have had access to taxpayer-funded lawyers. 

What happens next? 

The Bill is currently progressing through Parliament and may be amended as it moves through the various stages of scrutiny. 

The Hillsborough Law represents not only a response to past injustices, but an opportunity to help prevent future families from facing the same struggle for truth and justice. 

Once passed, the focus will be on effective implementation to ensure that the Duty of Candour is experienced in practice.