Jess Phillips

The hon. Lady is exactly right about a lack of faith in resources, which is exactly what led to the super-complaint being made. She is right that there is a 60:40 split between non-stranger stalking, including after previous domestic abuse or a relationship, and other stalking. We have to get it right for people who have experienced either type of stalking, because the experience is the same. The National Police Chiefs’ Council is engaging with 43 police forces to co-ordinate the response to the recommendations of the super-complaint. Police chiefs are required to publish an action plan setting out how they will respond; some have already done so. I pay massive tribute to Cheshire and to the Met, which has an amazing multi-agency system. I will be monitoring forces’ progress to ensure they respond. We will be reviewing the offences in sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. As the hon. Lady rightly points out, those offences sit within harassment legislation. As somebody who has brought a number of harassment charges, I know that sometimes the charge that appears on the sheet does not feel like the one of which I have been the victim.