LABOUR Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols shares her views in her latest column for us
It has taken so very, very long, and required the dedication and commitment of true unsung campaigning heroes, so many of them bereaved families, but last week we finally saw the Hillsborough Law laid before Parliament, as was promised in the Labour manifesto before the last election.
This is such an important piece of legislation that fundamentally changes the contract between citizens and the state, rebalancing power away from vested interests.
It will end the days of cover-ups and give victims more rights and power to demand transparency, truth, and change from the state and other powerful bodies.
The legislation will introduce a new professional and legal Duty of Candour, meaning public officials must act with honesty and integrity at all times, and impose criminal sanctions for egregious breaches.
It will make the largest expansion of legal aid in a decade for bereaved families, providing non-means-tested help and support for inquests, so that they can afford to pursue the truth.
And it will introduce a new offence for misleading the public, again with criminal sanctions for the most serious breaches.
Never again can we allow grieving families and victims to be smeared by powerful interest groups, including the police, with no ability to challenge the official position or clear their names.
As well as Hillsborough, this must mean no more prolonged scandals like our nuclear test veterans, infected blood, Horizon scandal sub-postmasters, or the Manchester Arena victims.
The State must protect our citizens, not automatically look to protect itself when things go wrong.
Of course, the objective must be to change the culture so that cover-ups and miscarriages of justice do not happen in the first place, but changing the law to rebalance the power is a crucial first step.
There can be no real change without proper accountability.
It will be a good day when we finally get the law through Parliament and onto the statute books.
As one of the guardians of this legislation, I will ensure this Bill is delivered and implemented in full.
It has taken too long to get to this moment, and now we owe it to the campaigners who have got us here.
I give tribute to all families and campaigners who have struggled for decades for justice for the 97 and the other victims who deserve better.
It is in their names that we are making this change, and to their credit that we will make our country fairer.
