Claire Throssell MBE met with Prime Minister, Andy Burnham MP, alongside her MP Marie Tidball, Minister for Victims, Alex Davies Jones, Minister for Courts, Sarah Sackman and Women’s Aid CEO, Farah Nazeer, following a vote by MPs to pass the Courts and Tribunals Bill through its remaining stages in the House of Commons. The Bill includes the removal of the presumption of parental involvement in Clause 17, Jack and Paul’s Law, which Claire Throssell MBE has been campaigning for over a decade.
Claire’s sons, Jack and Paul, aged 12 and 9 respectively, were tragically killed in a house fire set alight by their known domestically abusive father, during a court ordered contact visit in 2014.
Presumption of contact is a legal principle in the 1989 Children’s Act which means having both parents in a child’s life is always prioritised over the child’s safety, including where there is a known history of domestic abuse. Yet, domestic abuse featured in 90% of the cases reviewed by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner in 2025. There have been 68 child homicides, that we know of, as a result of presumption of parental involvement since Women’s Aid started reporting on this issue.
Clause 17 in the Courts and Tribunals Act will repeal this law, to put children's voices and safety at the heart of our family court system. This historic moment brings Claire one step closer to fulfilling her promise to her two beautiful boys, Jack and Paul, that no more children would lose their lives like they did; at the hands of an abusive parent.
Following the passage of the Bill through the Commons, Claire Throssell and her MP Marie Tidball met with Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who commended her tireless campaigning and committed that his government will deliver Claire’s promise in law.
Claire Throssell also met Justice Secretary, Alex Norris MP, earlier in the day, who reiterated his commitment to repealing the presumption of parental involvement and ensuring the safety of children in our courts is paramount.
Ahead of the debate, the Conservatives tabled an amendment to attempt to remove Clause 17 from the Bill to retain the presumption in law. During her speech in the Report Stage debate, Marie Tidball highlighted the “audacity” and “inaction” of the Conservatives, after they commissioned and ignored the Harm Report when in Government in 2020, which found that ‘the presumption should not remain in its present form’ and recommended it be ‘urgently reviewed to address its detrimental effects’. Dr Tidball told the Commons:
“I will not stand for it. Claire Throssell MBE, my fearless constituent will not stand for it. The people of Penistone and Stocksbridge – so many of whom have stood behind Claire and held her up - will not stand for it.”
Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge said:
“It was one of the proudest moments of my life to vote for Jack and Paul’s Law. This is a historic moment and a testament to the brave, 12-year campaign by Claire Throssell MBE.
“At the heart of Jack and Paul’s Law, is a simple principle: a child’s safety must always come first and their right to grow up free from harm. Being a parent is a privilege, not a right - and when a parent poses a serious risk to a child – the law must act.
“Two years ago, I held a Westminster Hall Debate in Parliament on Claire's campaign. I implored the Courts Minister to let us not just imagine a world where the voices of children are put at the heart of our family court system but also to legislate for it. So that children such as Jack and Paul are listened to, not ignored, for a world where childhood is free from fear and oppression, and where they live the lives they deserved to live. The Minister listened, our Labour government listened. Now, we no longer need to imagine that world; this Bill makes it a reality.”
Claire Throssell MBE said:
"Sat in the gallery, in the heart of Democracy to finally know that Clause 17 - Jack and Paul's Law to finally repeal the presumption of contact was a moment of two emotions. Sadness and pride of everything achieved in Jack and Paul's names. The Courts and Tribunals bill now rests in the Lord's and soon will hopefully receive Royal Assent and make lasting change to children's lives for many generations to come.
"12 birthdays, 12 anniversaries remembered, thoughts of what could have been. Yesterday was a landmark yet poignant. Marie's voice didn't just echo around the chamber it echoed in every family court in the UK. We will not stand for anymore children to be murdered at the hands of an abusive parent."
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