BASW England announce support for Hillsborough Law Now campaign

BASW England are delighted to announce their formal backing for the Hillsborough Law Now campaign as agreed by our National Steering Committee.

The Hillsborough Law Now campaign was launched in July 2022 and brings together a coalition of bereaved families and victims of public disasters, campaigners and MPs who are campaigning under a single shared belief that people shouldn’t have to fight justice, justice should fight for people.

The campaign is now pushing for a new law that would seek to do the following:

  • Create a new legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively cooperate with official investigations and inquiries - ending the depressingly familiar pattern of cover ups and concealment.
  • Ensure victims of disasters or state-related deaths are entitled to parity of legal representation during inquests and inquiries. This will mean that bereaved families can get legal aid, just as public money is used to support QC’s.

BASW England also met with Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, who has been an instrumental voice in the campaign where we discussed how we can best support the campaign.

At September’s Labour Party conference, we attended a fringe event hosted by the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, where we heard from several speakers including both politicians and campaigners for justice who shared their own experiences of how the justice system had failed them. Many also spoke passionately of how their families had been affected by public disasters.

BASW England will continue to support the work of the campaign as a vocal voice in the push for a new Hillsborough Law as well as standing in solidarity with the victims of disasters and their families.

If you want to find out more about the campaign, then visit their website here.