Friday Volume 649 23 November 2018 No. 211 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Friday 23 November 2018 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2018 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1147 23 NOVEMBER 2018 Stalking Protection Bill 1148 (d) the chief constable of the British Transport House of Commons Police; (e) the chief constable of the Ministry of Defence Friday 23 November 2018 Police;” See the explanatory statement for Amendment 1. The House met at half-past Nine o’clock Amendment 7, in clause 15, page 9, line 4, leave out from “force” to the end of line 5 and insert PRAYERS “two months after the day on which this Act is passed.” DrWollaston:Thisweekwecelebratethe100thanniversary [MR SPEAKER ] in the Chair of the first woman taking her seat in this House. I am Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con) I beg immensely proud, as a Devon MP, that that woman was to move, That the House sit in private. Lady Nancy Astor, and I think all of us in this House owe her an enormous debt of gratitude for the work she Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 163), and did, particularly in fighting on behalf of women and negatived. girls. I am proud that this Government have continued that work. Indeed, Members from across this whole Stalking Protection Bill House have done so much to advance this cause. Consideration of Bill, as amended in the Public Bill Of course, stalking does not just affect women—it Committee affects men as well, and it is a vile crime of an insidious nature. I am very grateful to all those, both within this Clause 1 House and beyond, who have contributed to the passage of this Bill, including with advice, which has caused me APPLICATIONS FOR ORDERS to table some important amendments. They are minor in nature, but I think they will greatly improve the Bill. 9.34 am Amendments 1, 2 and 6 would enable the chief constables Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con): I beg to move of the Ministry of Defence police and the British Transport amendment 1, page 1, line 16, after “police” insert police to apply for stalking protection orders and interim “for a police area in England and Wales”. orders, and to initiate related proceedings in connection This amendment and Amendments 2 and 6 would allow the chief with the variation and renewal of an order. That is constable of the Ministry of Defence Police and the Chief because stalking occurs across a range of contexts and Constable of the British Transport Police Force to apply for situations, with devastating consequences, and it is essential stalking protection orders and interim stalking protection orders, that a stalking protection order is available to police in a and to take part in related procedures. variety of situations. There may be circumstances in Mr Speaker: With this it will be convenient to discuss which the British Transport police or MOD police are the following: best placed to seek an order, for example if the stalking conduct has taken place on the railway network or a Amendment 2, in clause 4, page 3, line 24, leave out perpetrator lives or works in MOD premises. from “police” to the end of line 27 and insert “who applied for the stalking protection order and (if different) Amendments 3 and 4 would modify the notification the chief officer of police for the area in which the defendant requirements on a person subject to a stalking— resides, if that area is in England or Wales.” See the explanatory statement for Amendment 1. Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con): I know that my hon. Amendment 3, in clause 9, page 6, line 2, leave out Friend was about to move on, but I just wanted to “within” and insert “before the end of”. inquire about a thing not included in this list: the Civil Nuclear constabulary. The MOD police are included, This amendment would ensure a person can give notice that they and they protect particular areas. I welcome the are going to use a new name before doing so. amendments, but is there any particular reason why the Amendment 4, page 6, line 8, leave out “within” and Civil Nuclear constabulary is not included? insert “before the end of”. This amendment would ensure a person can give notice that they Dr Wollaston: I thank my hon. Friend for his point, are going to change their home address before doing so. which we could consider in the House of Lords as the Amendment 5, in clause 10, page 6, line 30, leave out Bill continues its passage. “whose home address is not” Amendments 3 and 4 would modify the notification and insert requirements on a person subject to a stalking protection “who does not have a home address”. order. Under the notification requirements, as drafted, This amendment would cater for the possibility that a person might a perpetrator must notify the police within three days of not have a home address. a change taking place. These amendments simply enable Amendment 6, in clause 14, page 8, line 9, at end the perpetrator to give such notice in advance of a insert— change taking place, and I hope that colleagues from ““chief officer of police” means— across the House will recognise that that is a small, (a) the chief constable of a police force maintained technical, but important change. under section 2 of the Police Act 1996 (police Finally, amendment 5 also relates to notification forces in England and Wales outside London); requirements. It caters for circumstances where the subject (b) the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis; of a stalking protection order has no home address. In (c) the Commissioner of Police for the City of London; such a case, the amendment provides that the perpetrator 1149 Stalking Protection Bill23 NOVEMBER 2018 Stalking Protection Bill 1150 [Dr Wollaston] troubling, as the letters multiplied, as he started to attend her home address, as he then started to attend can instead notify of a place where they can regularly her children’s birthday parties and when there were be found. That simply mirrors notification requirements concerns about the gas supply being interfered with. related to registered sex offenders. My hon. Friend the What is so troubling is that this went on for more than Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) also seven years. When the person was arrested, the police has an amendment in this group, but I do not see him in looked into his computer and found that he had searched the Chamber today, so I think we will assume that he for “How long after a person disappears are they considered does not wish to press that amendment. For now, I dead?” When he was released, he sent a message to the commend the amendments standing in my name to the victim saying simply, “Guess who’s back?” House. No wonder, then, that many victims of stalking refer to it as murder in slow motion. That might sound like Mr Speaker: Has the hon. Lady completed her speech? an entirely melodramatic phrase, but they say it because over time their freedom and ability to go about their Dr Wollaston indicated assent. business starts to be eroded. They are looking over their shoulders and increasingly become prisoners in Mr Speaker: We are immensely grateful to her; she their own lives. What is so worrying is that stalking can has been the epitome of succinctness, which serves as a escalate to very serious violence, which underpins why useful model for other colleagues. we need to take action early. Several hon. Members rose— Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab): Like the hon. Gentleman, I realised the extent of stalking when people Mr Speaker: Ah, a veritable slew of colleagues wishing brought cases to me. I was particularly struck when it to take part. I call Mr Alex Chalk. involved an ex-partner and I saw how seriously the police took it. I had a case in which the person moved, Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con): What a pleasure it is and on the day she moved in, she received a card from to say a few words in this debate. her ex-partner. The police said, “Well, that’s just quite a Before I move on to the specifics, it is important to nice thing to do.” Actually, it was clearly the ex-partner look at some of the context, because of course it was saying, “I know where you live.” not until fairly recently that stalking was made a crime. Before 2012, the concept of stalking was perhaps not Alex Chalk: That is precisely it. The weight of that taken terribly seriously at all—it was almost considered experience means that something that might be perceived something of a joke—but over the past decade there has to be innocuous in isolation becomes a deeply upsetting been a recognition that, as my hon. Friend the Member episode. I shall deal with that in a little more detail in for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) said, stalking is an insidious due course. and wicked crime. I pay tribute to her work to ensure that society’s response truly fits the scale of the threat. Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op): The hon. Gentleman might not know this, but I always sit in Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op): front of the memorial to my parliamentary neighbour I was hoping to intervene on the hon.