Keir Starmer fears for daughter's safety as he pledges to make spiking a specific offence

'My daughter's 12...but I'm already worrying', says Sir Keir Starmer as he announces Labour's pledge to make spiking a specific criminal offence

A Labour government would make spiking a specific offence as part of efforts to persecute criminals and tackle violence against women and girls, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield on ITV's This Morning, the Labour leader said he can imagine himself "pacing the living room" when his 12-year-old daughter is old enough to go out alone, and wants to help other parents with the same concerns.

By making spiking a specific offence, Sir Keir said more victims would be encouraged to report the crime and highlight the way violence against women and girls is being perpetrated.

He said: "It is always difficult to come forward to explain an awful experience to people you don't know. We need to make that easier for people. We will make it easier to prosecute it.

"But I also want to draw attention to it. I want people to be talking about it and knowing about this because for every young women who goes out this will strike real fear into them."

"My daughter's 12," he added, "but I'm already worrying about what, just in a few years. I can imagine myself pacing the living room every time she's out, worried. There will be many parents in that situation."

Sir Keir commented on reports that boys and young men could be taught about respect for women as part of the school curriculum.

He said: "I do we think we need to do more at school with boys and young men because this cant be left to women and girls, and victims of abuse and harassment, to do the heavy lifting."

The party leader, who is on the campaign trail ahead of local elections next week, admitted he was frustrated by antisemitic comments made by MP Diane Abbott over the weekend, as they remove the focus from campaigns he wants to draw attention to.

Ms Abbott published a letter in The Observer which suggested Jewish people don't experience racism, rather a form of prejudice similar to redheads.

Sir Keir said the comments were "regrettable on every level", adding: "...it's to be thoroughly condemned, it was antisemitic and it's very important we acted quickly."

When asked if it was still an issue within the Labour Party, he said: "I will admit that the fight against antisemitism is never over, in any organisation, political party or society."

But, he stressed, the party is now "unrecognisable" from the party in 2019, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

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