Olivia Pratt-Korbel's family still 'fighting' for criminals to face victims' families in sentencings

Olivia's mum told ITV News reporter Chloe Keedy they are "still fighting" for a change in the law to force offenders into attending sentencing hearings

When Cheryl Korbel found out that the Labour conference would be held in her home city of Liverpool, she knew she needed to be there.

It’s just over a year since she met the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, as he promised to pass a bill that would force killers to attend court on the day of their sentencing.

That promise meant everything to Cheryl.

Her daughter, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, was shot dead in their family home on August 22, 2022.

Last year, following a trial at Manchester Crown Court, Thomas Cashman was convicted of her murder.

But on the day of his sentencing he refused to appear in the dock, to listen to the judge or hear the impact statements that her mum and sister Chloe had written.

Since then, the family has been campaigning to get the law changed so that criminals are forced to face their victim’s families in court.

Last summer I went with them to Downing Street - where the prime minister promised he would pass Olivia’s law before the next election. The same day, Sir Keir Starmer - then leader of the opposition - told them the bill had his full support.

More than a year on - the election has passed, but the bill hasn’t. And in a meeting with the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, Olivia’s mum and aunt Antonia told her they feel as though they are back at square one.

"We were forced to go to the trial for four weeks," said Cheryl. "Why can’t they be forced to be there at the end?"

Ms Cooper told Cheryl and Olivia’s aunt Antonia that she felt "fury and anger that perpetrators can get away with this".

She said: "It’s a total disgrace. To be in your situation and then not even having someone face justice - It's an absolute disgrace and the law needs to be changed."

But they have heard that one before.

I asked the home Secretary if she could guarantee that we wouldn't still be having this conversation in another year’s time.

"We can’t be," she told me. "We have to get this through as quickly as possible. I just think the family cannot wait any longer.

"Other families cannot go through this deep injustice. Perpetrators have to face court, they have to face families."

Olivia’s mum has told me many times that she can no longer trust any politicians, because they’ve been let down. She told me that today had made her feel "hopeful", but that "trust has got to be built".

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"I think she felt a bit of our anger and frustration that it’s taken this long," said Olivia’s aunt Antonia. "I don’t feel like we’ve had a definitive answer of when."

Getting the bill passed quickly is one of their top priorities. Another, they tell me, is ensuring that it applies to all offenders, and not just those the prime minister has referred to as "serious offenders".

Two years since Olivia’s death, they tell me it is her that gives them the strength to keep fighting on behalf of other families.

"Olivia doesn’t have a voice, so we’re her voice now," said Cheryl.

"She was only 9 but she had a little fire in her belly. That gives us the fire in our belly to keep fighting."

What they still don’t know, is how much longer they will have to keep fighting for.

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