Sir Keir Starmer today reaffirmed that bringing in a new Hillsborough Law would be an early priority for an incoming Labour government under his leadership.

At last year's Labour Conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir confirmed that if his party win power, they will bring in the new law, also known as the public authorities (accountability) bill in the early stages of government.

The law is something that the families of those who died at the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster have long campaigned for. It would mean the introduction of a "duty of candour" to ensure that public authorities fully and proactively co-operate with official investigations.

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The new legislation would also require a parity of legal representation for the victims of disasters or state-related deaths to put ordinary people on a level playing field with public bodies.

It is hoped that a Hillsborough Law would prevent others from facing the ordeal that the Hillsborough families faced as they fought for decades for truth and justice for the 97 Liverpool fans who died as a result of the disaster.

Sir Keir was speaking during a visit to the Liverpool ECHO offices this morning (Tuesday), where he was grilled by sixth form students from local schools.

At one point he was asked about his decision to write for The S*n newspaper, which is reviled on Merseyside for the lies it spread about the victims of the 1989 disaster.

He said he did not regret his decision, adding: "I absolutely understand the strength of feeling here in Liverpool in relation to The S*n and Hillsborough in particular. I respect that, I deeply understand that.

"Before I was elected I was the director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013 and whilst I was in post, the panel reported on Hillsborough and therefore the chance came to reinvestigate and to see whether criminal charges could be brought. I was consulted very early on as to what I thought about that and I said the first thing I want to do is to meet the families.

"So I came here to Liverpool and met the families and they talked me through what this meant for them, the years and years of pain and grief that they had been through. Some of the people I spoke to had campaigned for a long time, while others had never spoken about it since the day it happened, because the grief was so deep.

He added: "So I do understand it, the question I have to answer is, what are you going to do about it? That's why we are committed to Hillsborough Law, which will mean that no family in future is put in that position and ensuring that we usher in a Labour government that is able to change some of these fundamentals.

"In order to do that I have to reach the maximum audience and that includes people who read The S*n, so I respectfully understand the position but it is my job to try and win that election by reaching as many voters as we can."

Reaffirming his commitment to a Hillsborough Law, Sir Keir added: "It is an early priority, I've worked on earlier versions of what this might look like and we have pressed amendments a number of times.

"I think there is still room for improving what might be in that law, but it should definitely have a representative of the families in situations like this, so they are not left without a voice.

"There is a massive injustice in some of the legal proceedings, where those that are alleged to have done something wrong are lawyered-up to the hilt with expensive lawyers and families are left without effective representation and we have to do something about that, that is an early priority."

"I still say to the government, if you are prepared to go down this route then we will vote with you. Obviously if we do come into power then we can change the law, but for those who have waited so long for this, we shouldn't have to wait for another year and an election for this to happen. That's an open challenge to the government, here is something that should be done, get on with it."

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