Emma Lewell

I am going to make a short speech on new clause 27, tabled in my name and the name of other hon. Members. After a short relationship, my constituent Sophie Hall has suffered and continues to suffer from a prolonged and relentless stalking campaign from her ex-partner, who was residing illegally in the UK. In November last year, he was arrested for these offences, but was never spoken to about them, as no interpreter could be found. No risk assessment was done, and he was placed in temporary accommodation on bail, which he continued to breach. In February, Sophie’s ex-partner was convicted and sentenced under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and was subsequently deported to his home country of Brazil with a 10-year re-entry ban effective from March. He then made his way to Europe, travelling across several countries before ending up back in the UK. In May, he was arrested in Belfast boarding a flight to Inverness. His aim, as always, was to get to Sophie. The Crown Prosecution Service then charged him with stalking and breaches of restraining order and immigration offences and he was remanded in custody. After review, the CPS stated that no charges could be filed for stalking under the current law because the stalking had happened outside the UK, the perpetrator is not a UK citizen or resident, and the existing law does not give the UK courts jurisdiction over stalking offences committed from abroad under these circumstances. This is the crux of new clause 27.