BBK Manifesto 2026: Enforce and strengthen the MOD’s duty of candour
The advantage of working exclusively for military personnel and their families is that you gain insight and understanding into how the Ministry of Defence operates and can identify patterns of behaviour. The most common feature, which appears in nearly all of the military claims I have worked on, is a resistance by the MOD to accept accountability, learn and make changes. This can manifest in small ways, such as not providing documents, or in more concerning ways such as a reluctance to conduct an internal investigation. Sometimes there could have been an investigation, but it has been carried out improperly.
This makes uncovering the truth far more challenging and significantly prolongs the process of securing justice. Changing a deeply ingrained culture is hugely difficult; however, it’s clear that this culture is at the heart of so many of the issues that serving personnel and their families have suffered over the years.
That is why, in our Manifesto for Injured People, BBK is asking the Government to introduce a clear and enforceable duty of candour for the MOD that ensures transparency and accountability when things go wrong.
A new duty of candour for the MOD
Unlike the NHS, there is no current statutory or professional obligation requiring the Ministry of Defence to be open and transparent when something goes wrong. Therefore, it’s encouraging that a duty of candour has been proposed in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2024-25, or so-called ‘Hillsborough Law’ and that this extends to the MOD. This Bill is currently in its final stages.
Although this duty of candour will only apply to investigations and inquiries, it does move the dial significantly on this issue.
The Bill would require public bodies to introduce professional duties of candour for their staff, tailored to their sector, and set out the consequences for employees who fail to comply, which could include disciplinary action.
At present there is little else in the Bill that sets out how this duty of candour should be implemented by public authorities.
BBK believes greater clarity is needed on what the duty requires and consistent consequences for staff who fail to meet it. Without this, standards could vary between public authorities, weakening the effectiveness of the duty.
The need for urgent progress
However, in relation to the MOD, we would also like to see the duty of candour strengthened and extended to ensure it delivers real change and guarantees accountability across all investigations, civil cases and related inquiries.
It’s also important that there’s greater clarity on how public authorities can discharge their obligation to put in place an ethical code of conduct, and that this requires candour, transparency and accountability to foster a learning culture.
The human cost of a broken system
Deep-seated cultural change is needed in the MOD, and this begins with a duty of candour and the MOD’s willingness to be truly transparent and, importantly, learn from its mistakes. Cultures of cover-up and blame need to end to ensure the safety of our serving personnel, veterans and their families.
The current environment is untenable and creates a more painful experience for personnel and families, particularly when a loved one has passed away unexpectedly, and they’re looking for answers. This environment also leaves some families at a disadvantage – they’re forced to use their own time and money to uncover the truth when they feel information has been withheld. Not every family has the means to do that.
A working duty of candour in the MOD could be transformative, but more information needs to be made available about how this duty will be implemented and policed – accountability and mandatory follow-up are essential for this to create real change.
This blog is part of our 2026/27 Manifesto for Injured People. At Bolt Burdon Kemp, we support injured people not only by winning their cases but by driving positive change. Guided by our clients’ experiences and partnerships with charities across the UK, we are raising awareness of the changes needed to better support injured people. We will continue working with politicians from all parties to ensure injured people’s needs are not overlooked in Westminster or beyond. You can read our full manifesto here.
