A new parliamentary group on public accountability launched on the fifth anniversary of a landmark report on the experiences of the Hillsborough families will not be a ‘tick-box exercise’, justice campaigners have been told.

Campaigners and politicians, including shadow justice secretary Steve Reed, Alison McGovern, Labour MP for Wirral South, and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, attended the launch of the public accountability all-party parliamentary group in Westminster this week.

The group will be chaired by Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, who told the event that he was present at the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and has been involved in the fight for truth and justice for over three decades. ‘It gives me insight into what a lot of you are going through. I’ve been involved in a few APPGs. Some of them seem like tick-box exercises. Believe me, this is not going to be a tick-box exercise.’

Asked what greater accountability means for them, campaigners spoke about the need for a culture of candour to be embedded as a statutory duty. MPs were told that justice will be different for victims – for some it may come in the form of financial compensation, for some it may be a commitment to health and social care.

Labour has pledged to put a ‘Hillsborough Law’ on the statute book if it comes into power. The proposed legislation would introduce a duty of candour requiring public authorities and officials to proactively cooperate with official investigations.

Solicitor Elkan Abrahamson, who acted for Hillsborough families, told the event that duty of candour already exists in the NHS but it does not create a criminal offence.

‘The idea of Hillsborough Law is to create a criminal offence, to protect people. When you’re in the NHS, you can say to your superior, “I cannot lie for you” because I will be criminalised. It is a protective measure.’

The APPG was launched five years after the Home Office published Bishop James Jones’ review of the experiences of the Hillsborough families. The bishop made 25 ‘points of learning’, which includes a duty of candour. The government has yet to publish its response.

A government spokesperson said: ‘The Hillsborough disaster was a devastating tragedy and we recognise the significant impact it continues to have on those affected, their families and communities. The government is considering its position on Hillsborough Law and will address it as part of the overarching response to Bishop James Jones’ report which will be published in due course.’