Editorial: ​Hillsborough Law laudable but it is ill thought-out

​It is not just Stormont that rushes into ill-thought out laws – the mother of all parliaments does so too.

This was apparent yesterday when the Hillsborough Law, formally titled the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, moved further towards the statute books in the House of Commons.

It is designed to create a duty for public officials and authorities to “act with candour, transparency and frankness”. Officials and authorities will have to flag information they hold to inquiry and investigation leaders, if they think it is relevant.

People who disobey the law will face fines or spend time in prison.

The Hillsborough Law takes its name from the 1989 disaster at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, when 97 Liverpool fans were killed in a crush during an FA Cup semi-final match.

It cleared the Commons yesterday but must undergo scrutiny in the Lords before it receives royal assent.

The principles behind the legislation are of course laudable. But politicians are increasingly prone to passing laws that look good but are problematic in practice. An example of that in the Northern Ireland assembly was an ill-thought out provision that would have banned naming sex offenders such as Jimmy Savile after their death if they had been arrested but never convicted (as Savile was not).

Now the Conservatives are pointing out that sp​ies might be unable to prevent future tragedies if they are subject to the Hillsborough Law duty of candour. Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, said intelligence officers “have to protect their sources, their methods”.

The bill’s progress through Parliament previously stalled because campaigners feared a carve-out for people in organisations such as MI5 and MI6 would create a way for the intelligence services to hide failings. The government unveiled amendments to their draft new law.

The key point to grasp is that solving these complex problems with sweeping new laws is not a straightforward business. Parliament has been evolving over 700 years.