Bill will not return to Commons until agreement is reached over role of serving security services
Labour will not bring the Hillsborough law back to the Commons for debate until it can reach agreement with the families, the Guardian understands.
Keir Starmer was forced to delay the bill again on Monday after talks broke down last week with families from Hillsborough and the Manchester Arena attack. Central to the disagreement is how the duty of candour in the public authority (accountability) bill would apply to serving intelligence officers.
The law – designed to stop official cover-ups – would mean those in public office who lie or evade would face prosecution. The government has agreed the law should cover the security services, but want to give agency chiefs the final say over when individual officers can give evidence, a power the families say is unacceptable and could lead to future cover-ups.
On Friday, the government laid down its own amendments to the bill, which put further obligations on the security services – but still did not go far enough to gain agreement.
