Bill could make it illegal for public officials to lie to the media
A new bill being backed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would make it illegal for public officials to lie to the media.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, also known as the Hillsborough Law, is intended to make sure authorities face criminal sanctions if they attempt to cover up facts behind disasters such as the 1989 football tragedy or the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.
The bill, which was introduced to Parliament on Tuesday, includes a new professional and legal duty of candour, meaning public officials must act with honesty and integrity at all times and could face criminal sanctions if they breach it.
In relation to authorities’ dealings with journalists, the proposed legislation states: “A public servant or official commits an offence if he or she intentionally or recklessly misleads the general public or media.”
The potential criminal consequences for this offence would be up to six months in prison or a fine for a summary conviction in magistrates’ court, or up to two years in prison or a fine if convicted on indictment.
The Government suggested the criminal sanctions will be “for the most serious breaches, including for misleading the public in a way which is seriously improper”.
Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg wrote in response to this choice of words: “Merely being economical with the truth will presumably be just fine.”
However Telegraph transport correspondent Gareth Corfield noted on Linkedin: “Two years in prison for ‘recklessly misleading’ journalists seems like a very big incentive for press officers to stop asking questions internally. You cannot lie about something you know nothing about, after all.”
The bill would also require previous public servants or officials to provide witness statements or other material to a court, inquiry or investigation or face the same sanctions.
The Government said the legislation would “lead to meaningful cultural changes and a public service that truly acts in the public interest”.
Starmer had previously pledged to bring in the law by the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, which was on 15 April, but Downing Street then said more time was needed to redraft it.
The Government said the new legislation will “end the culture of cover-ups” and learn lessons from wider disasters including the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals.
Journalist Nick Wallis told Press Gazette last year that the Post Office had “successfully managed to dampen down interest” in the Horizon computer story by allegedly calling up editors to tell them their journalists had got the story wrong – when in fact their reporting was accurate.
The BBC reported that the Post Office had threatened it and lied to it “in a failed effort to suppress key evidence” that helped clear postmasters over their alleged offences that could be blamed on the faulty Horizon system.
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