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'Britain is not safe for women and hasn't been for decades - it's a disgrace'

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Britain is not safe for women and it has not been for decades
Britain is not safe for women and it has not been for decades

The first duty of government is to ensure the security of the nation’s citizens – this is why it is a disgrace that the current Tory regime is letting half of them down.

Britain is not safe for women and it has not been for decades. The are ­frightened of walking home after dark, wary of travelling alone on public transport and even fearful in their own homes. To make matters worse, they lack confidence in the police to believe them if they report a rapist. And conviction rates are so low there is little guarantee of justice when they do put themselves through the trauma of a trial. The Tories have had 14 years to make women and girls feel safe and they have failed abysmally.

Labour now says violence against women must be treated as an emergency, not as an inevitability. Yvette Cooper today unveils a plan to do just that which includes training for every police officer in tackling the violence women too often face. The Shadow Home Secretary wants early-warning specialists in emergency control rooms to spot domestic abuse as 999 calls come in and to use counter-terror tactics to hunt down dangerous repeat offenders.

Fast-track rape courts will speed up justice and sexual assault survivors will get free legal advice to support them through the process. Of all the campaign promises to be made in the lead-up to this year’s general election, this should take priority. It should be an issue above politics – which means every party committing to keeping women and girls safe.

Weed ’em out

Social media can be a force for good but it is seriously tarnished by so many bad people.

Meghan Markle 'to unleash her own memoirs' as Prince Harry's drops next week eiqreiriuuprwMeghan Markle 'to unleash her own memoirs' as Prince Harry's drops next week

The last thing the Princess of Wales needed after her cancer diagnosis was persecution by online trolls peddling cruel and baseless conspiracy theories. Some rightly apologised after Kate movingly and courageously went public about her illness. But others continued to spew bile from their keyboards, which showed there was no depth of nastiness to which they would not stoop.

The Duchess of Sussex’s half-brother is such a person. Thomas Markle Jr has been posting sick videos smearing and mocking Meghan. No one should suffer this kind of harassment, especially from their own flesh and blood. YouTube should put a stop to his cyber-bullying – and that goes for all social media platforms. They will only do good when the bad are weeded out.

Bey’s hot line

Beyonce's chart-topping Cowboy Carter album is kicking off a revival in line dancing as well as country music. So, for the lowdown on the hoedown, Bey’s your cowgal.

Voice of the Mirror

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