Prime minister accused of putting domestic violence issue 'on the back burner'

Sir Keir Starmer is under fire after failing to mention the "epidemic" of violence against women in a major speech designed to relaunch his struggling government.

- KATE DEVLIN, MAYA OPPENHEIM

During the election campaign, the prime minister had made a flagship pledge to voters to ensure the problem was halved in a decade.

But leading domestic abuse charity Refuge said it was disappointed the prime minister failed to address the “horrifically high” levels of abuse and set “clear targets” to tackle it in his speech to reset his faltering government five months after stepping into No 10.

Sir Keir had reiterated his pledge to crack down on violence against women in an interview as he backed The Independent’s

Brick by Brick campaign to build a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic abuse.

But it was not mentioned at all in Thursday’s wide-ranging speech which laid out a new set of six “milestones” designed to persuade voters Labour is solving some of the biggest problems facing the country.

Abigail Ampofo, interim chief executive of Refuge, said her organisation had welcomed the government’s promise to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade. However, she added that it was “left disappointed” that Sir Keir’s speech “failed not only to address the horrific epidemic of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse that we are in, but to outline any clear targets as to how the government’s pledge will be accomplished”.

Ms Ampofo said: “If the government is serious about halving violence against women and girls, we need an action plan now, including improved funding for lifesaving domestic abuse services”. She warned that “many will be unable to continue their crucial work if the government does not step up” with ringfenced, multi-year funding for specialist organisations.