Labour’s election manifesto promised to protect women and girls from violence.
Gracie Spinks is one of 1.5 million reasons why that pledge must be turned into action without delay. Because that is the number of people stalked in England and Wales last year.
For horse-loving Gracie, her stalker – her work supervisor – became her killer. Gracie had reported his obsession to the police but nothing was done. Had they looked more closely, they would have found a history of harassing women he worked with and that he owned weapons with which to do harm.
As Gracie went to feed her horse in June 2021 her killer pounced, stabbing her 10 times. Derbyshire police admit failing her and have improved their systems. So has the Cheshire force. Gracie’s parents are now campaigning to ensure all police forces do more to stop stalkers in their tracks before they can kill.
They want a Gracie’s Law in their daughter’s memory, to prove she did not die in vain. It would mean the Government legislating for stalking co-ordinators and advocates in police stations, and making it mandatory to investigate every complaint.
It is unacceptable that just a third of police get any training in dealing with this frightening crime, and only three in every 100 officers are confident they are equipped to tackle it.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has a lot on her plate but new measures against stalkers must now go to the top of the pile. Victims must know their fears will be heard, or they will be reluctant to come forward. And there will be more avoidable tragedies like the horrific murder of Gracie Spinks.
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Plan won’t flyIn another blow to Gracie’s family, we today reveal that former Home Secretary James Cleverly had 20 times the number of civil servants working on his madcap Rwanda scheme than on violence against women.
Government plans face stringent tests to become active policy. Sending cross-Channel migrants to central Africa met none of them. There was no evidence it would be a deterrent, meaning the Home Office’s most senior official could not sign it off as value for money.
Mr Cleverly was so desperate to get flights in the air that he offered 200 asylum seekers £150,000 packages to go. Only four took it up. Yet despite £700million flushed down the drain on this white elephant, the Tory leadership hopeful says he would resurrect it if PM. Which is why he never should be.
A calming TPrisoners at HMP Woodhill have swapped piecework for peace work – pulling on T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Peace Promoter” to calm flare-ups among fellow inmates. The outfit also comes with a big trust advantage for the other lags… it means there’s no hiding any tricks up their sleeves.
