With parliament breaking for the summer recess on Thursday, this will probably be Burnham’s sole intervention from the backbenches of the House of Commons.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, also known as the Hillsborough law, is named after the 1989 tragedy at the Sheffield stadium where 97 Liverpool fans lost their lives in a crush.
The proposed legislation requires public bodies to be truthful and cooperate with inquiries after survivors and the families of the deceased advocated for decades to uncover the truth. Later investigations revealed police cover-ups and the spreading of false narratives regarding the Hillsborough deaths.
‘Campaign for truth’
Burnham, a native of Liverpool, expressed pride in seeing “this bill embed the values of the city of my birth into the core of the country.”
He has often discussed how being heckled by fans during a speech at Liverpool Football Club’s Anfield ground in 2009, while he was the culture secretary, altered his political perspective.
In a move interpreted as a declaration of intent, Burnham stated the legislation will support other victims of injustice, mentioning the families affected by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, nuclear test veterans, and sub-postmasters wrongfully accused of theft.
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