The mayors of Liverpool and Manchester are urging the government to withdraw an amendment to the Hillsborough law, arguing that it doesn't go far enough to prevent future cover-ups. The amendment, which is set to be debated on Monday, allows intelligence officials to decide what information is released to investigators after a major incident, creating a broad opt-out. This has raised concerns that security officials could hide serious failures behind a vague claim of national security. The mayors, Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham, have seen devastating incidents in their regions and are committed to strengthening the country's defenses by establishing the truth at the earliest opportunity. They believe the amendment risks undermining the spirit of the legislation and call on the government to work with families and the Hillsborough Law Now campaign to find a solution acceptable to all sides. The Hillsborough law was introduced in response to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, where 96 Liverpool fans (later 97) died due to negligent crowd control by the South Yorkshire police. The amendment has sparked controversy, with some arguing that it leaves the heads of the security services unchallenged in their decisions on information disclosure. Elkan Abrahamson, a lawyer for the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, believes the amendments should be revised to ensure that the head of an inquiry decides the relevance of information, and that national security exemptions already exist for private evidence hearings. Ian Byrne, the Liverpool West Derby MP, has also tabled amendments to ensure the duty of candour applies to those who work for intelligence organizations. He expressed his disappointment in the current form of the bill, stating that it doesn't meet his commitment to deliver the Hillsborough law without exemptions or loopholes.
