A Major Step Forward in My Fight for Justice – Meeting with Rupert Lowe MP

An Important Update on My Campaign Against the Early Release of Serious Abusers

I am really pleased to share that I have a meeting arranged with Rupert Lowe MP to discuss my campaign against the early release of serious domestic  abusers.

This means so much to me because I have spent years fighting to have my voice heard.

Important Update to My Petition – Why Are Domestic Abusers Still Eligible for Early Release?

I’ve recently discovered something deeply concerning about the new early-release laws introduced in October 2026.

Under the previous emergency early-release scheme, offenders convicted of stalking, coercive and controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation were specifically excluded.

But these protections have not all been carried forward into the new Sentencing Act 2026.

I want to know why.

These are not minor offences. Stalking, strangulation and coercive control can be warning signs of escalating and potentially fatal domestic abuse.

Survivors can spend years living in fear, being threatened, controlled and physically or psychologically abused. Finding the courage to report their abuser takes enormous strength, yet some are now facing the possibility of that person being released after serving just one-third of their sentence.

Even the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, has raised serious concerns about these changes and warned that survivors’ safety could be put at risk.

If these offences were considered serious enough to be excluded before, why have those protections not been carried forward? What has changed?

My own abuser was sentenced to four years in prison after subjecting me to over six years of horrific childhood abuse. He was released in 2022 after serving just 19 months.

I know personally how devastating early release can be for a survivor.

I am calling on the Government to restore and strengthen protections for victims by excluding serious domestic abuse offenders from automatic early-release arrangements, including those convicted of stalking, coercive control and non-fatal strangulation.

Prison overcrowding should never come at the expense of survivors’ safety.

This is why I am fighting to change the law.

Please sign and share my petition. Together, we can make sure survivors’ voices are heard.

I want Parliament to look seriously at the laws surrounding early release, the protection of survivors and why people who have already suffered so much are sometimes left living in fear all over again.

I have shared my story through ITV News, the BBC, national newspapers and my interview with leading criminal behavioural analyst Laura Richards. But I want to do more than raise awareness. I want to help change the law.

I am incredibly grateful to Rupert Lowe for agreeing to meet with me and giving me the opportunity to discuss my campaign and how we might take this further.

My hope is that this meeting will be another step towards getting survivors’ voices heard in Parliament.

There is no release date from the trauma of abuse.

I cannot change what happened to me, but I can use my voice to fight for others.

Thank you to everyone who has signed and supported my petition. Please continue sharing it. Every signature helps show why this issue matters.

Miriam Lake