A LANDMARK step in the inspirational Claire Throssell MBE’s campaign to save children’s lives following her own heartbreaking ordeal will begin on Tuesday - in what will finally result in a ‘monumental change’, according to her local MP.
Claire has campaigned for years to overturn the presumptive contact rule which allows both parents in a separating couple access to their children, regardless of whether one has a history of domestic abuse.
She began her campaign two years after the death of her two children, Jack and Paul, aged nine and 12 respectively, who died in the house fire started by her estranged husband in Penistone on October 22.
She had pleaded with professionals to help prevent Jack and Paul’s father from having unsupervised contact as she felt their safety was in jeopardy.
In October, marking the 11th anniversary of Jack and Paul’s deaths, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Claire and Marie Tidball MP to 10 Downing Street to promise Claire that his government would repeal the presumption of contact.
And now the landmark Courts and Tribunals Bill has been introduced to Parliament, which includes a clause to do just that.
The presumption of contact is a legal principle, brought about by the 2014 Children’s Act, to amend the 1989 Children’s Act, which means having both parents in a child’s life is always prioritised over the child’s safety, including where there is a known history of domestic abuse.
Clause 17 of the Bill - called ‘Welfare of the Child’ - will remove the presumption of contact completely from the law.
The bill will receive its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday - and then move through the legislative process in Parliament until it becomes law.
Claire said: “Presumption has no place in a court of law or when it comes to the safety of children and their lives.
“I never thought that this day would come, and in the darkest days, when all I had left was a glimmer of hope and a lifetime of love and a final promise to keep, repealing the presumption of parental contact seemed impossible.
“The clause will change children’s lives and give them all safer, brighter futures.
“A childhood free of fear and oppression.
“Seen, heard, believed, supported and protected.
“A total of 68 children have been murdered due to unsafe child contact at the hands of domestically abusive parents.
“Jack and Paul were two of them.
“For 30 years family courts have failed to protect children but now, thanks to this Labour government ,they will not be failed for 30 more.
“Jack and Paul were placed in my arms when they entered this world and placed in my arms to leave it.
“This new bill will prevent further deaths and parents having to exist like me and while this bill has a long way to go before it becomes legislation, the first major step towards that better future has begun.”
Ms Tidball, who has supported Claire and her campaign since being elected, has named the bill ‘Jack and Paul’s law’.
She said: “This is an incredibly emotional and historic moment.
“When I stood for election, I promised the formidable Claire Throssell MBE that if I was elected I would help her change the law.
“Eleven years since she started her campaign, after the deaths of her beautiful boys, this law change is on the cusp of being delivered by our Labour government.
“This is Jack and Paul’s law.
“Their voices are being heard loud and clear on the face of the Courts and Tribunals Bill, creating a monumental change that will protect the lives of generations of children, giving them brighter, safer futures. I
“’m so proud that Keir Starmer made this personal promise to Claire, taking a vital step to ensure that children’s safety is always at the heart of our family courts.
“Jack and Paul’s story, and Claire’s campaign to repeal the presumption of contact, are so close to so many of us across our communities who have stood beside Claire every step of the way.
“It has been an absolute honour to campaign alongside Claire since I became her MP.
“To see the repeal of the presumption of contact now in legislation is one of the proudest moments of my life.”
