The new Law will force public authorities to tell the truth in investigations and inquiries. There will be criminal sanctions if they fail to do so. There will be a proactive duty to assist investigations and inquires, and a new Duty of Candour, for all – from the top to the bottom.
It will end the obfuscation and institutional cover ups that we are so used to seeing, and create a new era of culture change, where truth and accountability is normalised.
It also includes the biggest change to Legal Aid in a generation. The Bill introduces non-means-tested legal funding for bereaved families at inquests where a public authority is legally represented. This removes the requirement for families to undergo means testing before accessing legal representation. This means that those fighting for the truth, do not have to raise money for lawyers when they are in the depths of their grief.
The Bill also contains provisions to make Inquiries more effective, this will be something we can rely upon in our fight to force the Government’s hand and order a full Statutory Public Inquiry into the DES Scandal. This Government is trying to tell us that they don’t have records, they don’t know who eventually withdrew the drug, they don’t know why it continued to be prescribed ... we do not accept this. An Inquiry is the only way to force them to tell the truth. No iron curtain. Nowhere to hide.
We know , because history tells us , that an apology without accountability simply is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. It leaves trauma unresolved, and the truth buried.
