Oldham Liberal Democrats demand “Hillsborough Law”

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on Oldham Council, Sam Al-Hamdani, has written to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asking the Government to lay out a timetable for a new law on “public candour” ahead of any local investigation into grooming and abuse in Oldham.

The law, proposed after the investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, would force public bodies to respond to inquiries of the type proposed in Oldha,

Lib Dem Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “The Home Secretary mentioned the Hillsborough Law in her statement, but with no timetable. Without it being brought in, a local inquiry would be left without teeth. 

“The proof of this is the original Newsam and Ridgway report in Oldham, which was denied information from Greater Manchester Police about the majority of cases it was investigating. That was one of its major failings, and this cannot happen again.”

The law would enable an inquiry to get access to reports and historical records from the full range of public bodies, giving people the confidence that no stone will be left unturned. 

Councillor Al-Hamdani added: “Survivors have gone through so much trauma, and we cannot ask them to do that again, if we do not give them confidence that the full story will be explored.

“This legislation needs to be fast-tracked through Parliament if Labour are to show that they really mean to deliver justice.”