'She'd still be here now

A YEAR ON FROM THIS SENSELESS MURDER, THE M.E.N. CALLS FOR A MANDATORY MINIMUM JAIL TERM FOR BREACHES OF RESTRAINING ORDERS

- JOSEPH TIMAN

JUST weeks before Caroline Gore was brutally murdered, her abusive partner who stabbed her to death was allowed to walk free.

David Liptrot had a string of convictions for domestic violence and was given a two-year restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting 'vulnerable' Caroline. Within a year, he was convicted for breaching it twice - but he was spared jail the second time.

Less than four weeks after receiving the suspended prison sentence, on October 29, 2023, he killed Caroline, 43, at her flat in Wigan.

One year on from this senseless killing, we say: no more. The Manchester Evening News is today calling for a mandatory minimum jail term for breaches of restraining orders - because, if there are no consequences, then they are not worth the paper they are written on.

Protective orders, like the one handed to Liptrot, should empower and protect victims and survivors of domestic abuse. But too often, organisations who support them say, these orders are ineffective as authorities do not monitor whether they are being adhered to.

When a perpetrator is convicted for breaching a protective order, offenders can be imprisoned for up to five years. But the number of convictions for breaches of protective orders have plummeted in recent years and nearly half of those who are convicted walk free.

Ahead of the general election, the Labour Party said its 'landmark mission' would be to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. This includes 'tougher enforcement and protection' and a review of sentences so that they 'make sense, the manifesto said.

Now that they're in power, it's time to take action.