NOT before time, the Government has bowed to pressure from MPs and police to make stalking a crime.
But David Maclean, the Home Office Minister, will not be backing a Private Member's Bill from Rossendale and Darwen Labour MP Janet Anderson which is to come before the Commons today.
Some ministers have expressed fears that the scope of Mrs Anderson's Bill is too wide and could criminalise legitimate activities. However, much of the credit for bringing the matter to the fore must go to Mrs Anderson who introduced her Bill in March.
She wants police to have the power of arrest and to be able to get stalkers into court quickly. That is surely what the the 3,000 people, mainly women, who are menaced by stalkers want too.
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