Lord Blunkett has told the House of Lords that he "deeply" regrets not doing more to support Hillsborough families during his time as home secretary, saying the decades-long campaign for the Hillsborough Law could have been resolved far sooner had politicians taken more responsibility at the time. The Labour peer, who represented Sheffield Brightside, the constituency covering Hillsborough Stadium, when the 1989 disaster killed 97 people, made the admission during a Lords debate on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which is designed to compel public officials to tell the truth during investigations and inquiries.

Lord Blunkett, who was home secretary from 2001 to 2004, said he had been reflecting for the past year or two on whether he could have done more, adding that he was "grateful" he had not believed police accounts of the disaster, unlike some fellow MPs. He praised bereaved families' "incredible tenacity" in pursuing the truth, noting that fresh inquests in 2016 found the victims were unlawfully killed and that police had contributed to their deaths. The bill, which completed its Commons stages in July and had its Lords second reading this week, would introduce a legal duty of candour for public bodies and expand legal aid for bereaved families, having previously been delayed by disputes over whether intelligence agencies should be covered.