Duty of candour for policing in response to report on Hillsborough tragedy

It follows a commitment to do so from the college when it, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, apologised for police failings at Hillsborough in January this year after the end of legal proceedings. Following that, an extensive consultation took place across on how a duty of candour would be most effective.

It is contained within the Code of Practice for Ethical Policing, which has been laid in Parliament today.

This will support the new Code of Ethics, which will be launched next year. It puts a responsibility on chief police officers to ensure openness and candour within their force and includes a range of issues chiefs should consider when doing this.

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died following the stadium crush during an FA Cup semi-final match in Hillsborough stadium on Saturday April 15, 1989.

A 2017 report by the former Bishop of Liverpool the Right Reverend James Jones – ‘The Patronising Disposition of Unaccountable Power’ – called for key reforms following the inquests, which concluded the football fans were unlawfully killed.

It was eventually found errors by the police and ambulance service caused or contributed to the deaths.

The introduction of a duty of candour for police officers was one of the points of learning in his report.

The Government, which published its long-awaited response to the report on Wednesday (December 6), said it agrees that “openness and transparency in the police is of the utmost importance”.

In their foreword to the report, Home Secretary James Cleverly and Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk, said: “Last month, we introduced legislation to place a statutory duty of candour on policing.

“Our legislation requires a Code of Practice for ethical policing which is designed to promote a culture of openness, honesty and transparency within the police.

“Chief officers will be held to account for their forces’ performance against the code.

“This builds on legislative changes introduced in 2020 that mean that officers who fail to cooperate with inquiries, inquests or investigations could face disciplinary action and potentially dismissal.

“We are doing this to ensure that the culture of defensiveness and self-interest seen in the aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy does not occur again.”

The Government has also signed a Hillsborough Charter, promising no family will suffer the same injustices as relatives of the disaster’s victims.

However, it stopped short of implementing a ‘Hillsborough Law’, which would give the pledges a legal basis.

The Home Secretary and Justice Secretary said: “It is our view that the duties and obligations that have been created since the Hillsborough disaster, combined with actions set out in this response – including signing the Hillsborough Charter, consulting on the expansion of legal aid, and placing a statutory duty of candour on the police – broadly achieves the aims and upholds the principles of what has come to be known as the ‘Hillsborough Law’.

“However, it is paramount that we monitor how these changes embed. While legislation alone cannot ensure a culture of openness, honesty and candour, we will not rule out bringing further legislation if we think this is needed to drive further improvements.”

Mr Jones had called for the establishment of a charter for bereaved families following such disasters.

Mr Cleverly and Mr Chalk acknowledged that the Government’s response “has taken too long”.

They said: “In order to avoid prejudicing the outcomes of criminal trials, the Government held back from responding to Bishop James’ findings.

“Nevertheless, our response has taken too long, compounding the agony of the Hillsborough families and survivors. For this we are deeply sorry.

“The Government is clear that those affected by the Hillsborough disaster suffered a ‘double injustice’. The actual event; the failure of the State to protect their loved ones and the indefensible wait for the truth, and then the injustice of the blaming of the deceased – that they were somehow at fault for their own deaths.

“Chapter 1 of Bishop James’ report sets out the families’ experiences of their treatment in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, and the false public narratives that quickly formed. We must accept responsibility for this and we must learn from it.

“As public servants we must place the public interest above our own reputations, and never seek to defend the indefensible when we have fallen short.

“In particular, the national policing response has acknowledged that the police must learn the lessons of Hillsborough and must avoid the defensiveness and obfuscation that damaged public confidence in the police, and in other public bodies that responded to the Hillsborough disaster.”

The Government says it will also conduct a review into the effectiveness of the duty of candour for health and social care providers.

College of Policing chief executive officer, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, said: “Earlier this year policing apologised for profoundly failing those bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster over many years. As I said then policing must never seek to defend the indefensible and must openly acknowledge when mistakes have been made.

“As part of our efforts to ensure this can never happen again we have introduced a Duty of Candour for policing with a commitment that we will welcome scrutiny in an open, honest and transparent way. As police officers we must always act in the interests of the public.

“The legislation means chief police officers have a responsibility to ensure openness and candour within their force. It puts an end to speculation that those who speak up about wrongdoing could be penalised and provides a supportive environment where everyone is encouraged to be open, candid and raise any concerns.

“We will now work to ensure that any barriers to candour like policies or culture are found and removed as we seek to build and maintain the public’s trust in us to be there when they need us.”

Merseyside’s police and crime commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “The Hillsborough families and survivors have endured unimaginable heartache for decades. Suffering which has been compounded by institutional delay, after delay, after inexcusable delay.

“It is an utter disgrace the Government has once again tested their enduring patience by taking six years, and numerous Prime Ministers and Home Secretaries, to dignify Bishop James’s report with a response.

“To apologise today, does not undo the harm yet more waiting has caused those who have suffered so deeply.

“While today’s official response includes some long overdue steps in the right direction, it falls short of the Hillsborough Law called for by the families and their supporters.

“Committing to a Hillsborough Law would help to rebalance the scales of justice, ensuring bereaved families are treated in a fairer, more just way.

“There has been significant progress in increasing accountability and transparency within our justice system and the duty of candour for policing further embeds the commitment to ensuring no other families are so badly let down.

“But there can be no room for complacency.

“The introduction of a statutory duty of candour on all public servants would ensure these principles are enshrined across all bodies which have a role serving the public and help to ensure no other families are force to endure the injustice they have experienced.”