Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has thrown his weight behind calls in Parliament for tougher laws to combat ‘spiking by injection’, of which there has been a concerning increase in nightclubs and other late night venues across the United Kingdom. Moore is the co-sponsor of a Parliamentary Bill, introduced by Richard Graham MP, to make spiking a crime in itself.
There has been an alarming increase in reports of spiking over the past months, with women and girls developing bruising or ‘pin pricks’, caused by spiking with needles. Josh Harwin, the National Police Council’s drugs lead, told a home affairs committee inquiry into spiking that since September, police forces have received over 1,300 reports of needle spiking. These instances have been linked to secondary offences, including sexual assault and theft. Moore has previously raised his concerns regarding spiking by injection in the Chamber.
Whilst current laws can be used to prosecute those found guilty of spiking, not all incidents apply. The bill introduced in Parliament will aim to close “gaps in the law” which make spiking incidents more difficult to investigate. The anti-spiking bill will be read in more detail by MPs at its second reading, an important step towards the legislation becoming law. The bill received support from across the House of Commons, with no objections from the government or other backbenchers.
Robbie Moore MP said: “Spiking has been a dangerous issue for some time, but recent figures show the problem is rapidly getting worse. Young adults, particularly woman and girls are increasingly becoming concerned of enjoying a night out for fear of being spiked. Only last October, students in Leeds made their concerns known, as they came together with students from across the country to boycott nightclubs to put pressure on venues to do more to protect women and combat the recent increase in drink spiking and spiking by injection. We need to take urgent action to ensure we close the loopholes so that such cases are much easier to prosecute.
I was delighted to be able to support Richard Graham’s Bill to make spiking a specific crime in its own right and will monitor its passage through the House of Commons very closely. It is vital for us to do absolutely everything we can in Parliament to provide more protection to the potential victims of spiking, particularly young women and girls, who are becoming increasing vulnerable to this horrific crime.”
