Louise Minchin discusses life after BBC Breakfast
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Davies, 44, turned on the former BBC Breakfast host and her daughter after waging a five-year campaign of harassment against Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts. The former paratrooper was jailed for two years and eight months for stalking Louise and Minchin last December. But the presenter and her family say they are still living with the devastating impact of his crimes.
Speaking on ITV Tonight – Louise Minchin: The Truth About Stalking, Mia said: “I logged into mum’s Instagram account and suddenly loads of messages started coming.
“They were all kind of just really offensive, calling us not very nice names and then they got much more graphic.
“It was the kind of actions that he wanted to do against me and mum, which got really personal and they weren’t nice to read at all.”
Over three days in July 2020, Davies told Louise that he knew where she lived and what cars were on her drive.
Describing the ordeal for the first time, Mia told ITV Tonight: “I was terrified, all kind of shaking.
“I think my heart was beating really fast. I didn’t sleep all night. The entirety of the next day, I was in floods of tears.”
The ordeal has changed her life. She said: “When I’m walking, I’m very conscious of who is behind me, especially not to have my headphones in if it’s dark and there’s no one else around.”
Davies, of Flint, North Wales, initially denied two counts of stalking meaning Louise and her daughter would have to go through the added ordeal of a trial.
But he switched his plea to guilty before a jury was sworn in at Mold Crown Court.
The ex-soldier was said to be suffering from PTSD following service in Afghanistan. He had been given a suspended sentence for stalking the Girls Aloud star.
Jailing Davies, Judge Nicola Saffman said Louise’s family “still don’t feel safe” and also handed him an indefinite restraining order.
Louise, 53, told ITV Tonight: “It was very clear from the messages that this person knew exactly where we lived and had stood outside our front door.
“To say I was frightened, just doesn’t really touch the surface.
“You are kind of on this high state of alert all the time.
“You don’t know who they are. So, you don’t know that that person standing next to you isn’t them.”
She questioned whether enough is being done to tackle the menace of stalking – a crime which is grossly over-reported to police.
Official data suggests at least a million women and girls are victims of stalking.
ITV Tonight sent a Freedom of Information request to the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
Only half responded but the replies revealed out of the 70,385 stalking offences recorded last year, only 237 Stalking Protection Orders or Interim Orders were issued.
Jes Phillips, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, told the programme: “I’m afraid to say you don’t have to wait longer than a week for another case of a dead woman where a pattern of stalking was very, very clear.
“There’s very little understanding still within the whole criminal justice system. Historically and today, it’s still massively under-resourced and misunderstood.”
Ms Phillips called for a National Stalkers Register saying: “If the idea to the public that a high risk of harm terrorist wasn’t being monitored in the community, it would be anathema to the police services. So, why is it that we expect victims to be doing the burden of work in protecting themselves?”
The Home Office told ITV Tonight rather than bringing in a national register they’re improving current systems “to better identify the risk perpetrators pose, and enabling more effective data sharing between the police and other frontline agencies.”
Forces are expected to make full use of Stalking Protection Orders and chief officers have been called to account over why so few are issued, the Home Office said.
You can watch ITV Tonight – Louise Minchin: The Truth About Stalking, Thursday 10th March, 8:30pm, on ITV or catch-up on ITV Hub.
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