Lawyer says key measures axed

ONE of the lawyers who drafted the Hillsborough bill says bereaved families face a fight to get a worthwhile version of the legislation passed.

- BY SOPHIE HUSKISSON

Elkan Abrahamson and human rights barrister Pete Weatherby drafted the bill as a response to the Hillsborough disaster and similar public scandals.

With police found to have lied and doctored evidence about the 1989 tragedy, the bill would have imposed a duty of candour on public officials.

Involved officials would have been obliged to come forward and co-operate with inquiries without being asked.

The first draft of the bill also included a commitment to legal funding for people facing official bodies in court.