Charlie Alford

Can Andy Burnham make MI5 respect the Hillsborough Law?

Post author:RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR
Post published:17 August 2026
Post last modified:17 August 2026

One of the first tasks of Whitehall’s mandarins – the permanent government – is to indoctrinate a new prime minister in the need for official secrecy, especially around the intelligence agencies. Andy Burnham should be more sceptical judging by his comments over many years and could prove to be a more difficult person to convince than his predecessors. His accession to the premiership comes at a time of unprecedented public criticism of the agencies, of MI5 in particular. Burnham was at the forefront of the campaign to get justice for the families of the 97 unlawfully killed at the 1989 Hillsborough…

Hillsborough Law marks a huge achievement for accountability but political will is crucial for it to work

Post author:Maddison Wheeldon
Post published:15 July 2026
Post last modified:15 July 2026

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 July, and is now moving through the next stages of the legislative process. Also referred to as the Hillsborough Law, it will drastically improve the ability of ordinary people to get justice and accountability from those in power. In short, its purpose is to ensure the government is accountable for its actions and the very real human impact those actions can have, drawing its nickname from the Hillsborough disaster. Despite multiple attempts in the courts, none of the police officers or the former chief…