Gracie Spinks: Chesterfield MP slams Derbyshire police and calls for consistent national policies on stalking

Speaking in Parliament MP Mr Perkins asked the Home Secretary whether he would back Labour's plans for more consistency across police forces.

Mr Perkins said: “The murder of Gracie Spinks in Chesterfield sent shockwaves through the town and the report into Derbyshire’s police handling of that was a very salutary and desperately unhappy situation. There is still too much inconsistency in how stalking and violence against women is handled.

"So will the home secretary back Labour’s plan to bring in mandatory national standards and mandatory training on violence against women so that we see consistency on stalking policing, right across the country?"In response to his question, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “I can assure the House that under my leadership the home office and policing across the UK will maintain its focus on preventing violence against women and girls. We do have a rollout of guidance and training for the policing of women and girls. I will listen carefully to the proposals he has put forward because we want to make sure that women and girls in the country feel safe.”

Gracie’s parents called on Home Secretary James Cleverly in November last year to demand improvements from Derbyshire Constabulary following a damning coroner’s report.

The three-week-long inquest into Gracie’s death found that Derbyshire Constabulary had made “serious failings” while investigating the case of stalker Michael Sellers before he killed Gracie on June 18, 2021.

Twenty-three-year-old Gracie’s initial complaint against Sellers was closed after he was given “words of advice” by a PC and after being considered by her sergeant for “20 minutes”.

While a bag of sinister weapons accompanied by a strange note found near the field where Gracie kept her horse – where she was stabbed to death just weeks later - was closed by another sergeant as “lost property”.

In the prevention of future deaths report published following the inquest, Chesterfield coroner Matthew Kewley raised a number of ongoing concerns addressed to Derbyshire Constabulary – which pose a risk of future deaths “unless action is taken”.