As we reported on 17 January, Keir Starmer’s Labour government is at risk of failing to pass its landmark Hillsborough Law. The reason it’s at risk is because the government has sought to introduce a last minute amendment which would exempt security services from accountability. This angered the families of victims — especially because MI5 scandalously withheld information to escape responsibility following the Manchester Arena bombing.
Now, Lisa Nandy has claimed security services will not be exempt. It’s unclear if this is true or just another instance of government dishonesty. What is clear, however, is that Nandy has spat in the face of victims’ families by claiming they’ve never taken issue with the government’s handling of this issue:
Nandy denies the govt is watering down the Hillsborough Law &says they’ve never been attacked by the families
Last week I watched interviews with families whose children were killed in the Manchester bombing & they were clear, the govt is watering down the law & its unacceptable pic.twitter.com/oy7XqNyEhJ
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) January 18, 2026
Hillsborough Law amendment is disgraceful
As we reported, several family members were completely unhappy with the government’s last minute attempt to save secret service removed from accountability. The BBC carried several quotes from family members:
Ruth Leney, who chairs the Manchester Arena Support Network, said the PM had “listened” during their meeting on Wednesday, but added: “It’s not the outcome that we expected.
“It’s got to be all or nothing, they can’t water down anything, especially with the security services.”
She added: “We can’t trust the bill if not everybody is accountable to it.”
Caroline Curry, whose son Liam Curry, 19, was killed in the bombing, said she was “devastated” about amendments to the bill and felt like she had been misled.
“We can’t bring our children back, they’re gone,” she said.
“But what we can do is try to stand up for other people and try to protect their children.”
“It’s not what they agreed and what they promised,” said Lisa Rutherford, whose daughter Chloe Rutherford, 17, was also killed.
“They have said that they will go away and have another look but we are not hopeful,” she added. “All we want is honesty.”
They additionally reported:
Liverpool Labour MP Ian Byrne – a long-standing Hillsborough campaigner – said he plans to press ahead with his own amendment, which would fully apply the law to the security services, unless the government was willing to change its position.
He told the BBC it was “soul-destroying” that the government appeared to be giving the security services a veto and that families of victims he met had been “distraught”.
It’s easy to understand why they’d feel this way. A public inquiry found that MI5 misled the public over the intelligence they had on the suicide bomber before he conducted the attack. Labour MP Anneliese Midgley said that MI5 spent “six years misleading the public and concealing information”.
We wouldn’t describe family members standing up for what’s right as an ‘attack’. At the same time, it’s clear in what Nandy said that she was trying to suggest the government has enjoyed unwavering support from the families:
the reason that this is difficult is because we’re resetting the relationship between people and the state and putting people back in the driving seat. Now, we’ve been attacked and undermined at every stage, but the people that we’ve never been attacked and undermined by are the families who’ve been fighting for justice.
We work with them as partners, because this bill is for them and we’re going to make sure that we deliver on it.
Liars
In her interview with Kuenssberg, Nandy explicitly said:
I just want to be really clear. The security services won’t be exempt
With Nandy being dishonest about the families, it’s entirely reasonable to assume she’s being dishonest here too. This is especially the case given that her boss is Keir Starmer — one of the most dishonest men in British politics (and a long-term defender of crimes of the state).
Some time between now and tomorrow, we will learn if security services will be exempt or not. If they’re not, it’s because Labour were forced to back down by the brave families of the victims.
Oh, and for a further example of this wretched government siding with power over people, look at the state of this:
#BBCLauraK asks Nandy about Trump threatening the UK over our position on Greenland.
Nandy: “The president is very concerned about the arctic situation & the threat Russia poses…”
Does this sound like a govt that will stand up to the US, or one that will roll over & cave in? pic.twitter.com/MIZk3NAVfZ
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) January 18, 2026
Featured image via BBC
By Willem Moore
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