Building a system where justice comes without a fight
4 min read
We stand at a defining point in the evolution of public accountability.
Hillsborough remains the starkest example of what happens when truth is buried, candour is absent, and institutions protect themselves instead of the public. Twenty-seven years passed before the truth was uncovered – a truth that revealed systemic failure, institutional defensiveness and a culture of denial. Nearly a decade later, we are finally building the architecture to ensure such injustice is never repeated.
In recent debates on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, MPs and peers returned to the question that should haunt us all: why did families have to fight for decades for answers? Those reflections, offered as Hillsborough families looked on from the gallery, were a powerful call to action. We must build a system where truth is not something victims must wrestle from institutions, but rather offered as a matter of course.
Sadly, the next major incident is not a question of if, but when. This is Parliament’s test: can it turn lessons from past failures into a system that guarantees candour, fairness and dignity when that moment comes? This bill is vital, but only part of the answer. Completing the path to accountability requires pairing it with a strong Independent Public Advocate (IPA), the mechanism that ensures victims and bereaved families never bear the burden of seeking truth alone.
The bill hardwires candour into law. The IPA makes that candour real. Together, they form a complementary system: one establishes the legal framework for accountability; the other ensures victims can navigate it. Parliament can legislate for openness, but it cannot stand beside families when decisions are made, information is withheld, or trust is broken. That is precisely why the IPA exists: to ensure that, when it matters most, institutions behave with honesty and transparency.
Yet it is striking – and, frankly, troubling – that a bill centred on candour doesn’t mention the IPA at all. The IPA is a cornerstone of the accountability architecture that Parliament itself has put in place. Candour cannot be an abstract ideal, it must be visible, human and genuinely felt by families in those first disorienting hours and days after a major incident. The IPA turns Parliament’s intent into lived experience, making clear whether public bodies are meeting the spirit and standards of this legislation.
My role as the first IPA was born out of the failures that left Hillsborough families fighting for decades, and from the experiences of victims of Grenfell, Manchester Arena and other tragedies. Time and again, bereaved families have faced exceptional challenges, navigating opaque systems while carrying unimaginable grief. The IPA changes that.
Already, the need is clear. Just four days in, I was deployed to support victims of the horrific Manchester synagogue attack, ensuring that those affected had access to guidance, advocacy and clarity at a time of profound distress. It was a stark reminder that this office is not symbolic. It is operational, live, and built to stand with victims from the very start.
For the first time, victims have a designated advocate: someone independent, impartial and focused solely on their interests. My role is to ensure victims and families understand investigations, inquiries and inquests; support them to participate fully; and connect them to the right services.
I am here to shine a light on institutional behaviour, challenge defensiveness and push for truth and justice, because my doctrine is simple: the burden of seeking truth and justice must rest with the system, never on the shoulders of victims and families who have already endured so much pain.
This is not just a new role but a new principle which makes dignity, clarity and fairness for victims of major incidents non-negotiable. We must position the IPA alongside the Public Office (Accountability) Bill as part of a single, stronger system – one that learns from the past and ensures no victim or bereaved family ever carries the crushing burden of seeking justice alone.
Cindy Butts is the first Independent Public Advocate
