Representation of the People Bill
These amendments propose expansion of section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 to update the existing illegal practice of false campaign statements so that it applies not only to personal attacks on candidates but also to materially false factual claims used during election or referendum campaigns to influence voters. Our proposals include clear safeguards ensuring liability arises only where a statement is made knowingly or recklessly, while protecting honest mistakes, opinions, predictions, political promises, and parliamentary privilege. These proposals have been submitted to Parliament for the attention of the Bill's Scrutiny Committee.
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
Thanks to the excellent work of the Hillsborough Law Now campaigners Prime Minister Keir Starmer has proposed a historic new Bill titled as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2025. It proposes criminalising Misleading of the Public by Government Ministers. We had nothing to do with the creation of this Bill but our amendments propose vital definitions of key terms. In doing this we are applying lessons learned from Ball v Johnson 2019. We also propose expanding the criminal offence of Misleading the Public to all MPs, MSs, MSPs, MLAs, and Judges as well. The final version of this proposal was published by Parliament and tabled for the attention of the Bill's srutiny committee.
