Keir Starmer was forced to pull the Hillsborough Law from the Commons last night amid a growing row over the accountability of MI5 and other intelligence agencies.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which aims to force public officials and contractors to tell the truth after disasters, was expected to clear the Commons today.
But the legislation, brought forward after the role played by the police in the Hillsborough stadium disaster in 1989, which left 97 Liverpool fans dead, was withdrawn at the 11th hour.
A row has been brewing with Labour backbenchers and campaigners over an amendment they claim could be used by intelligence agencies to avoid being bound by the proposed duty of candour.
Ministers are now speaking with campaigners and bereaved families to try to agree on how to move forward.
Sir Keir told a press conference this morning he wants to ‘get the balance right’.
But it means that MPs arriving back in Westminster today for the start of the Parliamentary week will have very little to do.
The bill had been allotted six-and-a-half hours of today’s eight-hour Commons sitting.
Keir Starmer was forced to pull the Hillsborough Law from the Commons last night amid a growing row over the accountability of MI5 and other intelligence agencies.
The legislation, brought forward after the role played by the police in the Hillsborough stadium disaster in 1989, which left 97 Liverpool fans dead, was withdrawn at the 11th hour.
Amendments tabled last week brought spies within the scope of the legislation, subject to the approval of the head of their service, but campaigners argued this would allow those running the security services to decide whether to disclose information.
MPs had been due to debate the Hillsborough Law last week but the discussion was pushed back until Monday to allow the Government to propose changes that might address campaigners’ concerns.
However, the amendment put forward drew criticism from campaigners and Labour figures.
Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne had said he would not be able to support the legislation with the Government’s amendments included.
‘As it stands now, I wouldn’t vote on the legislation, because at the moment it’s not the Hillsborough Law because it’s still got security service carve-outs,’ he told the Press Association on Sunday evening.
He had tabled amendments of his own that seek to ensure the duty of candour applies to intelligence officers without such exceptions.
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said on Saturday that the Government amendment ‘risks undermining the spirit of the legislation’ and ‘creates too broad an opt-out’ for the security services.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy insisted earlier on Sunday that security services would not be ‘exempt’ from the duty of candour.
She said the challenge was to make sure the law applies to the security services ‘without fear or favour’ while allowing them to do their jobs, as part of which they are ‘often the recipients of confidential information’.
‘But that we never ever end up in a situation like we did with the Manchester Arena inquiry, and I have constituents who are affected by that as well – where the security services are able to withhold information and present an inaccurate picture to families and to a public inquiry for a very long time,’ she told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.
But today, speaking at a press conference in Downing Street on Monday, the Prime Minister said: ‘In relation to the duty of candour, we’ve been clear that that matters.
‘What we’re now trying to do is just make sure we get the balance right when it comes to the application of any principle to the security and intelligence agencies.
‘Obviously, I have to focus on the national interest – my primary duty as Prime Minister, which is to keep this country safe and secure – that is the duty I hold above all other duties, and I take it really seriously, which is why we’re just taking time to make sure that we get that balance absolutely right.’
Campaign group Hillsborough Law Now said: ‘We welcome the Government listening to the campaign, families, MPs and supporters by withdrawing their security services amendment.
‘We shall engage further with Government to ensure the Bill fully applies to the security services whilst not jeopardising national security.’
Some campaigners had warned that the draft legislation might allow intelligence chiefs to ‘hide serious failures behind a vague claim of national security’.
