Candour, Communities and the New Hillsborough Law

The Linen Hall library is hosting a public talk on the Hillsborough Law as it passes through Parliament. This historic new law – officially known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill –will impose a new ‘duty of candour’ on all those in public office across the UK and impose criminal sanctions on those who breach it.

The talk will be presented by Lee Castleton OBE, former Sub Post Master and victim of the Post Office Scandal. Lee is a founder member of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA). After twenty years of fighting, he is still waiting for justice, along with hundreds of his fellow victims. Professor Helen Stalford, principal convenor of the Centre for People’s Justice, will also summarise the proposed content, scope and potential impact of the new Hillsborough Law.

The presentation marks the launch of a new touring and digital exhibition, Candour and Communities, curated by the Centre for People’s Justice. Co-created with the communities affected, the exhibition explores fifteen disasters, scandals and injustices over the past 100 years and highlights how institutional cover-ups caused and deepened suffering. Through retelling these interconnected stories of shared injustice, the presentation reflects on how the Hillsborough Law might have impacted these cases and how it might prevent similar injustices in the future.

Lee Castleton OBE (right) with Will Mellor who played him in the award-winning ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.