Labour government would make spiking a specific offence, Starmer announces

Keir Starmer has announced that Labour would make spiking a specific offence as part of its plans to tackle violence against women and girls, with the Labour leader describing the crime as “pernicious, dangerous and hateful”.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning earlier today, Starmer revealed that Labour would introduce the new offence, which he argued would “make it easier for people to come forward to report what’s happened and easier to prosecute”, as well as raising awareness of this type of crime.

He told viewers: “I want people to be talking about it and knowing about this. Because for every young woman who goes out, this will strike real fear into them, and for parents.”

Starmer ‘worried’ about his daughter

The Labour leader said he is “already worrying” about his 12-year-old daughter, adding: “In a few years, I can imagine myself pacing the living room every time she’s out, worried. And there’ll be many parents in that situation.”

More than 2,000 cases of drink spiking were reported to police forces in England and Wales between May and September last year. Police also received reports of more than 2,500 incidents of spiking by needle in an extended monitoring period from September 2021 to August 2022.

The statistics revealed that 64% of reports take place over the weekend, with 59% of incidents happening in pubs, bars and clubs. According to the data, the average age of those reporting spiking incidents is 27, with 74% of victims identifying as female.

Then Home Secretary Priti Patel said last year the government was looking into “a specific criminal offence to target spiking directly”. But Home Office minister Sarah Dines said in January ministers have decided a new offence is “unnecessary”.

In a letter to Commons home affairs committee chair and Labour MP Diana Johnson, Dines said the government had considered the case for new legislation but concluded that “there are already several offences which cover incidents of spiking”.

Johnson said she was “disappointed” at the decision and argued that existing legislation is “clearly not working”. The home affairs committee previously argued that a specific offence would have “several benefits”, including increasing reporting and “sending a clear message to perpetrators that this is a serious crime”.

Plans welcomed by campaigners

Commenting on Labour’s plans following his appearance on This Morning, Starmer said: “Victims are let down when the law doesn’t keep up with evolving crime. My government will recognise the reality of dangerous new crimes being perpetrated against, more often than not, young women, and we will act.”

He added: “Women should not have to live in fear that when they go out, their drink may be spiked or that they may be injected with a harmful substance. It is a pernicious, dangerous and hateful crime, and Labour will punish it as such.

“As a society, we can’t ever be complacent about new ways that people are being hurt, abused and threatened. Whether it’s new forms of violence online, such as cyber-flashing or revenge porn or the terrifying emergence of spiking in pubs and clubs, we need to get in front of any sense that there is a way around the law.”

Labour announced today that the party would also consider introducing anonymous reporting systems for victims of spiking to address under-reporting, highlighting research from campaign group Stamp Out Spiking that suggests that only 3% of victims report incidents of drink spiking.

Stamp Out Spiking CEO and founder Dawn Dines said the group “eagerly” welcomed Labour’s commitment and argued that recognising spiking as a criminal offence will “provide protection and hopefully some justice for past victims, but most importantly it will safeguard the public against the actions of the perpetrators”.

Starmer has pledged to halve levels of violence against women and girls as part of Labour’s “mission” to tackle crime – one of the five missions that will form the basis of the party’s next manifesto.

As part of its plans, Labour is looking at rolling out education for boys on violence against women and girls. In a roundtable with campaigners and experts on Monday, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stressed the need for “much stronger work on prevention”, including “stronger education among boys and young men”.