Deranged prisoner tormented Home Office Minister Jess Phillips by stalking her from behind bars
A DERANGED prisoner tormented Home Office Minister Jess Phillips by stalking her from behind bars.
Ms Phillips yesterday revealed she endured a terrifying battle with a depraved lag, as she announced stalking protection orders will now apply to jailed Brits too.
The minister said she’s come across “quite a lot of cases” where men in prison for violence against an ex-partner were still able to stalk and contact them online.
Asked how being stalked by a prisoner affected her, Ms Phillips said: “I think that for most victims, what you try and do is diminish it at first.
“It’s just one of those things where you live rent-free in someone’s head when you’re a politician, until the point at which it ramps up and it begins to control you.
“I’m a person with quite a lot of power. These crimes are usually about power and control.”
Ms Phillips, who has campaigned for decades on violence against women and girls, said her stalker was able to write letters to her and make contact from prison.
She said she took a “crestfallen” phone call from the justice secretary who apologised to her that this had been allowed to happen in the prison system.
In September, The Sun revealed police were failing to protect stalking victims in too many cases.
A major review concluded hundreds of lives could be at risk.
Watchdogs behind the report yesterday called for urgent action to improve the way police in England and Wales handle stalking cases and support victim.
They also urged a law change to make it easier to prosecute the crime.