Bill for Hillsborough Law set to be approved by MPs

Bill for Hillsborough Law set to be approved by MPsImage source, HILLSBOROUGH INQUESTSImage caption, The Hillsborough Bill is not likely to go back before MPs before the summer recess, the BBC has been toldByDaniel Wittenberg, Senior Producer and Judith Moritz, Special correspondentPublished13 minutes agoThe long-delayed bill to create a Hillsborough Law is expected to be approved by MPs next week after the government confirmed it could return to Parliament before the summer recess.Downing Street withdrew the legislation from the parliamentary agenda in January following disagreements over how far it would require intelligence services to comply with a proposed legal "duty of candour" on public bodies and officials.A government source has told the BBC that ministers have now agreed a new amendment, which campaigners say means there will be no exemption for the intelligence services.The 1989 Hillsborough disaster claimed 97 lives after a crush during the FA Cup semi-final.Police spread false narratives blaming Liverpool fans, and withheld evidence of their own failings after the disaster at Sheffield Wednesday's ground.Fresh inquests held in 2016 found that the Liverpool fans had been unlawfully killed, and it was the police who had caused or contributed to their deaths. The Hillsborough Law would create a legal duty for public officials to tell the truth to inquiries and investigations. 'Lasting legacy'Hillsborough survivor Ian Byrne MP, who has led the parliamentary campaign for the law, told the BBC: "I'm absolutely delighted, and above all relieved, that we have finally secured the Hillsborough Law."This is a lasting legacy for the 97, for the survivors, the bereaved families, and for every person who has suffered at the hands of the state and been denied truth and justice."Sources close to the discussions said Andy Burnham, the likely next prime minister and a long-standing supporter of the Hillsborough families and s...