PM Scraps Spy Chiefs' Veto Power Over Hillsborough Law Evidence

The Prime Minister is dropping a controversial amendment that would have let security service chiefs decide whether their spies could give evidence in public inquiries.

The Hillsborough Law creates a "duty of candour" - meaning government officials must be honest and share information during investigations. But the planned amendment would have given spy agency bosses broad power to exempt their people from this rule.

Liverpool and Manchester mayors called the exemption "too broad" over the weekend. They warned it created an unfair opt-out for intelligence services.

Elkan Abrahamson, a lawyer for the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, said the amendment let security chiefs "make whatever decision they want" about sharing information. He called their power "unchallengeable."

The Hillsborough Law is named after the 1989 stadium disaster where 97 people died. Families fought for decades to uncover how authorities covered up their failures. The law aims to prevent similar cover-ups in future government investigations.