Jess Phillips pledges £250k training budget to curb drink spiking - as she hits out at Tory inaction over women's safety
25 November 2024, 09:16 | Updated: 25 November 2024, 09:58
Watch Again: Nick Ferrari is joined by Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips | 25/11/24
Jess Phillips has hit out at a lack of Tory action over drink spiking in the UK as she announced new measures as part of a government crackdown on violence against women.
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Speaking with Nick Ferrari at breakfast, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls told LBC that the aim of the training is to "help spot perpetrator behaviour".
"The initiative isn't just about training bar staff, it's about collecting data," Ms Phillips told Nick.
Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley hit out at a lack of Tory policy aimed at tackling women's safety, with Ms Phillips insisting the Conservatives "spoke a good game" but "they just didn’t do them".
As part of the new training proposed by Keir Starmer, nightlife workers will now be taught how to stop spiking, help victims and collect evidence to support prosecutions by spring next year, Downing Street says.
Questioning on the cost of such a policy, Nick pushed Ms Phillips on the exact figure, with Ms Phillips confirming a £250,000 budget to train 10,000 staff.
Nick Ferrari on being spiked
"That’s not the cost of a bottle of Prosecco," insisted Nick.
"I don’t know where you’re buying your Prosecco - you can get it cheeper in Lidl," retorted Phillips.
"You don't train someone one-to-one, you do it in a group environment," the MP continued, explaining the policy would form part of the party's pledge to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.
It comes as Prime Minister is set to summon police chief constables, transport bosses and industry executives to Downing Street on Monday to urge a co-ordinated response to "this cowardly act".
"I came to the Home Office and found quite a lot of things that I’d been told were happening and they hadn’t happened -particularly in the space of women and girls," the MP said.
She added that she will now "crack on" with implementing the new safeguarding measures.
“Men bothering women on a dance floor for example. Where women are not in any way taking part in it and ad to intervene and to stop it and also to listen to women. To listen to people and in a spiking environment," she continued.
"Obviously this can happen to anybody. It isn't just a crime that happens to women, but if women come up and report this to bar staff or that they're worried that bar staff respond.”
On Monday, the Government announced the 10,000 workers would 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 a meeting in Downing Street about tactics already being used.
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.
