Stalking victims from Washington and Newcastle welcome law review | UK News

Following campaigns from victims of stalking, the government has agreed to review the law. Two victims, who the introduced to a minister to share their experiences, said it was about time.

Ashley’s abuse started many years ago.

Despite working away during the week, her ex-husband Jason Howe monitored and controlled her every move.

She was not allowed to visit family for more than an hour at a time and he would phone her the moment she finished work and order her to head home immediately.

After he got a driving ban and had to leave work, the abuse intensified.

Their marriage eventually ended in December 2023 after 18 years together, but that was not the end of Ashley’s torment.

Howe bombarded her with threatening calls and texts, telling her he would throw acid in her face, ram her vehicle off the road and set fire to her home and those of friends and family.

Ashley took his threats so seriously she and her mother would wear sunglasses when they went out, fearing they would be blinded if acid was thrown in their faces.

Matters came to a head when he put an Apple air tag on her car.

When she got a notification that she was near a tag she called the police, who collected the device and took it away as evidence.

Howe then followed an unmarked police car believing his estranged wife was inside, leading to his arrest.

In March this year, Howe was jailed for three years and four months and handed a restraining order preventing him from contacting Ashley indefinitely.

But he was able to have the order amended so when he is released from prison, he will be able use a road “for work reasons” which runs through an exclusion zone – set up for Ashley’s protection.

Ashley, from Washington, said she was not consulted about the alteration, which is now one of the aspects of the law she wants to change.

“Why is it that he as the perpetrator can have this changed but me, as the victim, gets no say?” she said.

“The road he can now use travels directly past where I live, if there’s an accident and he’s diverted he will likely be able to come into my village.

“This isn’t right.”

Ashley’s story sounds familiar to Katherine, whose ex-partner John Hall was arrested 28 times for stalking her before being eventually jailed earlier this year.

Hall would sit outside her house at night while phoning her constantly, and even followed her for seven hours up one of Britain’s highest peaks.

He had been in prison before, but when he was released he would continue to stalk her, leading to Katherine, from Newcastle, having to move to a women’s refuge miles away from her home and family.

As part of her contribution to the law review, Katherine says men like Hall should be given psychological support to stop their obsessive behaviour.

Ashley suggests that victims of stalking should be able to deal with the same officer each time they make a complaint – so the officer will know the history of the offending.

Katherine agrees.

Each time she reported Hall for stalking, the officers she dealt with thought it was a new complaint and she had to explain it was behaviour she had experienced for months and had already reported to the police.

Speaking to Ashley and Katherine, the minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips said what they had gone through was “torture” and the law needs to reflect the gravity of their experiences.

They are “two of the lucky ones” who got convictions for the “wicked crime” which is “uncommon”, the Labour MP said.

“The justice system has to feel like protection for you,” she tells them.

The review is “vital”, the MP added, to “make sure our laws are strong and bold enough to protect victims and track down perpetrators”.

The review is expected to be completed in March 2026 and is being led by Richard Wright KC, the barrister who successfully prosecuted the killer of Alice Ruggles.

Alice was 24 when her ex-boyfriend Trimaan Dhillon murdered her in her Gateshead home in 2016 after a campaign of stalking.

About 1.4 million people aged over 16 experienced stalking last year according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

In a response to a stalking super-complaint, published by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium, the Home Office said there was evidence of police forces routinely failing to recognise stalking and, even when they did, mishandling cases.

The super-complaint also highlighted potential gaps in current legislation, a government spokesman said, and flaws that may be “hampering the criminal justice system’s ability to tackle stalking effectively and provide victims with the protection they deserve”.

Mr Wright, KC, said: “The stalking super-complaint has shone a light on the experience of victims of stalking within the criminal justice system.

“My review will be conducted rapidly to identify any gaps in existing legislation and make any necessary recommendations for change.

“It is essential that the criminal law provides the necessary level of protection to victims of this serious offence and that as a result victims have confidence in the criminal justice system and feel able to report dangerous stalking behaviour.”

A Home Office spokesman said the review would “determine whether the law should change so that the police can better spot, investigate and prosecute stalking cases”.

“Crucially”, he said, it would also test whether the law can keep up with insidious, emerging forms of stalking, including those carried out online or using “new technology”.