Starmer to look at domestic abuse in teenage relationships after girl’s death
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Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to look at whether younger people should have recognition as domestic abuse victims, after a teenager stabbed his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend to death in an alleyway. Taking questions at the despatch box on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said he was “grateful” to address the murder of Holly Newton, from Hexham in Northumberland.
Her killer Logan MacPhail, then aged 16, stalked Holly for an hour through the town before knifing her 36 times in an alleyway in January 2023. The town’s Labour MP Joe Morris said the case was a “tragic murder”, adding: “Will the Prime Minister and Home Secretary look urgently at the calls from Holly’s mother Micala Trussler to lower the age that a person can be recognised as a victim of domestic abuse?”.
Sir Keir replied: “Can I thank (Mr Morris) for raising this tragic case and it is a really important issue. “We’ve seen an increase in violence in teenage relationships in the last decade and I’ve been continually shocked by research that shows that at a younger and younger age, there’s abuse in relationships.
“So we do need to look at this at the earliest opportunity to how we properly protect girls, but I’m very grateful this tragic case has been raised.”. MacPhail, of Birtley in Gateshead, was detained for life with a minimum term of 17 years. According to Mr Justice Hilliard, who sentenced him last year, MacPhail was not able to accept that his 18-month relationship with Holly was over and launched the attack when he was “filled with resentment and jealousy but still able to calculate” where to murder her.
