As readers will know, I have been honoured to help my constituent, Annette Bramley, in her campaign to create a register of those found guilty of animal cruelty to help prevent domestic violence, following the awful murder of her daughter, Holly, in 2023.
The link between cruelty towards animals and domestic abuse is clear, and I know from the meeting I organised with Annette and the then Home Office Minister Jess Phillips, covered by this paper, that the Government is sympathetic to her campaign. The Home Office committed to working with the RSPCA on how to better coordinate reports of animal cruelty so that police forces could access them ahead of callouts relating to domestic abuse. Hopefully, this can lead to a register along the lines Annette is calling for, known as ‘Holly’s Law’.
I have written to Natalie Fleet, the new Home Office Minister who replaced Jess Phillips who resigned last week, to ensure she takes forward the progress we have made, and to seek a meeting in Westminster.
Thank you to all those in South Holland who have contacted me about this important matter, and thank you to Annette for her courage in inspiring me to take this forward. They can be assured I will continue to do all I can to fight for this important campaign.
Sir John Hayes MP
Member of Parliament for South Holland and the Deepings
