Andy Burnham has hailed a power shift from the state to the people as MPs finally passed the stalled Hillsborough law, a rare moment of Labour unity with the bill set to be a key legacy of Keir Starmer’s government.
In his first intervention in the Commons since returning as an MP, Burnham said the bill was a significant step towards securing the accountability the Hillsborough families had fought for – but should never have had to do.
“We have had a situation in this country where people suffer the trauma of the initial bereavement, the incident that took their loved ones away, and then they are re-traumatised by the behaviour of the state,” he said.
“We can’t take that hurt away tonight. But we can put decency back at the heart of the British state, and that is what this bill does.”
Burnham, who has been a long and passionate campaigner for the Hillsborough families and for the law, said the bill would be “truly a rewiring of the state” and that the lessons were still relevant to other major public scandals where institutions have protected themselves rather than the people.
The public office (accountability) bill puts a duty of candour on public officials, meaning those who lie or evade during inquiries into tragedies would face prosecution.
Source: The Guardian, 14 July 2026
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