Andy Burnham warns Starmer he must not water down Hillsborough law

Sir Keir Starmer pledged at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in 2022, as Leader of the Opposition, that one of his first acts as PM would be to get Hillsborough Law through Parliament.

He reiterated that pledge at last year’s Conference, though changed his promise, saying it would get through the Commons before this year’s anniversary of the disaster, which came and went in April.

Speaking to LBC, Mr Burnham said: "You can see how it's needed now to help people still fighting for justice and I think of the nuclear test veterans but there are other people in that position.

"It's one of the big ways in which culture change is needed in Britain, people are feeling at the moment that the country's not working as it should. People have been left in the wilderness for years fighting for justice is a very clear sign of that, the Whitehall system doesn't work often for ordinary people, and the Hillsborough Law is a big part of that, big part of that change.”

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Hillsborough Law would establish a legal duty of candour on public authorities, ensuring they truthfully assist investigations into disasters and scandals.

There have been concerns in recent months that the Government will try to get a watered-down version of the Bill through Parliament, after reports that the duty of candour element had been dropped.

The Manchester Mayor said anything less than the full Hillsborough law would be unacceptable.

"All I can say is we are unflinching in our commitment to the full Hillsborough Law. It's not about accepting, you know, a sort of a watered-down version for us.

"Obviously there's ways of doing it so that it can be implemented in a way that has the impact, and we're open to those discussions but it can't be anything less than the full Hillsborough Law, which is parity of legal funding for families, bereaved families at inquest where the state is involved, but also that full duty of candour which applies institutionally and individually with criminal sanctions.

"These are the changes needed to get the culture change to end frankly, the culture of cover up that we've had in this country for too long."

The Prime Minister will return to Liverpool in less than two weeks for the Labour Party Conference and will undoubtedly face questions from the surviving Hillsborough families, and politicians alike, who have fought for years to get the legislation through Parliament.

The Labour Mayor for Greater Manchester has launched a new campaign group calling on the Government to tax wealth, nationalise utility companies, and end the two-child benefit cap.

The creation of the group is seen as the first steps towards a new leadership challenge from the Manchester mayor.

MPs backing Mr Burnham said, "this administration is coming to an end" as they blasted Sir Keir's leadership, adding that the metro mayor can bring much-needed "fresh thinking".

"He [Mr Burnham] really does represent what the Labour Party is about. He's not only demonstrated that across Manchester but the leadership he does give on many issues, I think that's the kind of leadership we need at this time," another told the telegraph.

Mr Burnham is expected to criticise Sir Keir at Labour's annual party conference later this month. He is expected to call for a "reset" to help Labour win the next election.