Keir Starmer says spiking will become a 'criminal offence' as thousands of bar staff given training

Labour pledged in its manifesto to introduce a new offence for spiking, but it is unclear when the legislation will be brought in, as ITV News' Stacey Foster reports

Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated plans to make spiking a 'criminal offence' as he lays out plans for venue staff to be trained in how to deal with these incidents to tackle violence against women and girls.

In a post on X, the prime minister said: "Spiking will be made a criminal offence."My government was elected to take back our streets, central to this mission is making sure women and girls can feel safe at night."Perpetrators of spiking will feel the full force of the law."

The government says the pledge is part of its promise to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade as Starmer said he hopes the change will give people "the confidence to come forward".

Spiking is already illegal, but the commitment is to making it a specific offence. According to information published by the Metropolitan Police, spiking offences are covered by more than one law, but most come under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

It is unclear when the new legislation will be introduced, but ministers and officials are understood to be working to bring it forward as soon as possible.

Saraya Haddad had her drink spiked five years ago while on a night out at university.

Speaking to ITV News, she said: "The last thing I remember is being slightly tipsey, but nothing more than that - and then black out. I woke up in my bed 13 hours later the next morning."

Like many victims she did not go to the police, but when she reported the incident to her university she found out that she was the sixth person to have been spiked within the space of six months at the same campus bar.

It comes as the Starmer summoned chief constables, transport bosses and industry executives to Downing Street to urge a co-ordinated response to “this cowardly act”.

On Monday, the government announced plans for 10,000 workers in the hospitality industry to be trained to deal with incidents by next spring as part of an expansion of a scheme piloted from December.

Workers in the night-time economy will be instructed on how to prevent cases, support victims and help “collect evidence” by spring next year, Number 10 said.

Labour pledged in its manifesto to introduce a new offence for spiking, but there was no detail in the King’s Speech this year about a specific crime, though it promised to ensure an improved police response to cases.

Plain clothes officers are being deployed in areas around bars and clubs to spot predatory behaviour, with Chief Constable Jason Hogg of Thames Valley Police due to set out how his force is implementing such measures.

Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of British Transport Police will highlight the relaunch of the text-to-report number, 61016, which is now free across all major networks and invites women to contact the force for help in the event of harassment on the train.

Other figures attending the meeting include Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality and chairwoman of the Institute of Licensing, and Chief Constable Maggie Blythe, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for VAWG.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Spiking is a disturbing and serious crime which can have a damaging and long-lasting impact on victims.

“That’s why today we are taking decisive action to prevent this devastating crime and to crack down on perpetrators, by introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and launching specialist training for thousands of bar staff nationwide.

“People shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their drinks on a night out. These changes are about giving victims greater confidence to come forward, and ensuring that there is a robust response from the police whenever these appalling crimes take place.”

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…