When ministers and senior officials make reckless decisions, or fail to act, and people die, there is almost no way to hold them criminally accountable. The families of those who died in the COVID-19 pandemic know this pain all too well.

Decisions made by ministers in 2020, under the previous Conservative government, led to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths, yet no one responsible has faced justice.

If we do not fix this, the same thing could happen again in the next national crisis. The current “Misconduct in Public Office” law is centuries old, vague, and almost never used against senior politicians. Research by Spotlight on Corruption shows that 98% of those convicted of MIPO under the existing law were junior to mid-level employees, such as prison or police staff.

Without reform, ministers will continue to act with impunity, knowing there is no real legal consequence for gross negligence that costs lives.

Now is the moment to act. The Law Commission has already said the law needs urgent reform, but nothing has been done. We are calling for a new, modern law to replace the outdated offence of Misconduct in Public Office and make it a criminal offence for ministers and public officials to act with gross negligence or wilful disregard for public safety when it leads to serious harm or death.

If ordinary people can be prosecuted for gross negligence that kills, so should those in government.

Sign this petition to tell Parliament that no one is above the law.