'Clare's Law' Hopes To Protect Against Domestic Violence

A new scheme called ‘Clare’s Law’ will give people in England and Wales the ability to find out if their partners have a history of domestic violence.

Trials of the new “right to ask” scheme will be launched in Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire and Gwent.

Named after Clare Wood who was murdered in Salford, Greater Manchester, by her partner, George Appleton, in 2009. Wood had made several complaints to the police about Appleton, before he killed her, and later hung himself.

Refuge, the domestic violence group, has criticised the plans saying they will have little impact in protecting victims.

Ministers are backing the plans, which will be similar to the right to ask whether someone with access to your children has a history of sex offences.

Michael Brown, Clare’s father, has welcomed the launch saying, "I believe that if my daughter had known of the past of her partner she would have dropped him like a hot brick and scampered out of there".

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, has said police would be better off improving how the initially respond to domestic violence calls.

“The new disclosure scheme simply isn't supported by any of us with the expertise to judge its chances of success," she said.

Adding: "It is an absolute tragedy that Clare Wood was murdered by her ex-partner, but it is highly unlikely that she died because the police didn't inform her about her ex-partner's previous conviction. It is more likely she died because the police did not respond to her emergency 999 call for help."

The new law is based on the child sex offender disclosure scheme Sarah’s Law, named after Sarah Payne was murdered by a known paedophile.

During its trial it received 315 applications for information, which revealed 21 potential cases where a known offender had access to the applicant’s child.

(H/GK)