Birmingham MP says new plan to make spiking specific offence is 'just the start'
Jess Philips MP tells us the new plans will improve the safety of women and girls
A Birmingham MP says she hopes new plans to make spiking a specific offence will empower people to report any incidents to police.
Jess Philips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, tells us it's the first step in improving safety for women and girls.
It's as thousands of bar staff will be trained to deal with incidents of spiking under Government plans as Sir Keir Starmer demands joint action from police and hospitality chiefs to tackle violence against women and girls.
"This is clearly a problem here and across the country," says Ms Philips.
"We've got to do something and this is a start."
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.
It comes as the Prime Minister summons chief constables, transport bosses and industry executives to Downing Street on Monday to urge a co-ordinated response to "this cowardly act".
Ms Philips says the plan is part of a wider move by the government to improve the safety of women and girls.
"This is just one measure in a raft of measures that the government is putting in place to build confidence in the police among the women in our country" she says.
"We're putting domestic abuse specialists in every 999 call centre to make sure when people ring up they get a good and caring response.
"It's based on the case of Raneem, a young woman in the West Midlands, who called the police and did not get the response she needed and sadly her and her mother died."
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.
Sir Keir will reaffirm his commitment to creating a new offence on Monday, which the Government says is part of its promise to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.
It is unclear when the legislation will be introduced, but ministers and officials are understood to be working to bring it forward as soon as possible.
On Monday, the Government will announce 10,000 workers in the hospitality industry will be trained to deal with incidents by next spring as part of an expansion of a scheme piloted from December.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir will hear from police and industry leaders at talks in Downing Street about tactics already being used in response to the issue.
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 tell the meeting 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 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.
Sir Keir said: "My Government was elected on a pledge to take back our streets, and we will never achieve this if women and girls do not feel safe at night.
"Today, I will bring together police chiefs, heads of industry and transport bosses to demand coordinated action to stop women being targeted, whether they are out with friends or simply travelling home.
"Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission.
"We know it can be incredibly difficult for victims to come forward to report this awful crime, and these cases can be very hard to prosecute. We must do more to bring the vile perpetrators who carry out this cowardly act, usually against young women and often to commit a sexual offence, to justice."
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."