Helen Margaret Newlove, Baroness Newlove (born 28 December 1961) is a British community reform campaigner who was appointed as Victims' Commissioner[1] and served from 2013 to 2019. She was reappointed as the interim victims' commissioner on 16 October 2023[2] and has served as a deputy speaker in the House of Lords since 5 March 2018. Helen Newlove came to prominence after her husband, Garry Newlove, was murdered by three youths in 2007.[3] After his death she set up a number of foundations that aimed to tackle the UK drinking culture as well as providing support to young people. Newlove was given a peerage in the 2010 Dissolution Honours list and sits in the House of Lords as a Conservative.[4]
The Baroness Newlove | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales | |
Interim | |
| Assumed office 16 October 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Dame Vera Baird |
| In office 4 March 2013 – 31 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Louise Casey |
| Succeeded by | Dame Vera Baird |
| Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords | |
| Assumed office 5 March 2018 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 15 July 2010 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 December 1961 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
Campaigns
editNewlove's 47-year-old husband Garry Newlove was murdered in August 2007 in Warrington, Cheshire, after confronting a gang of drunken youths who were vandalising her car – the culmination of a long-running campaign of youth gang crime in the Padgate area of the town. Five months later, three local teenagers were found guilty of murdering Garry Newlove, who died in hospital 36 hours after being repeatedly kicked and punched outside his house. They were sentenced to life imprisonment with recommended minimum terms of between 12 and 17 years. Two other suspects, also teenagers, were tried for the murder and found not guilty.
Witnesses estimated that around ten people were involved in the attack on Garry Newlove, and most or all of them had been involved in earlier incidents of vandalism. One of the three teenagers found guilty of the murder had been released on bail hours earlier after appearing in court charged with assaulting another man in the local area.
Since her husband's death, Helen Newlove has campaigned against the UK's binge drinking culture and calling for better training for landlords and bar staff, as well as shop workers involved in the sale of alcohol. She has more prominently campaigned to clamp down on the sort of criminal activities which contributed to the death of her husband, campaigned for stiffer sentences for serious offences, and campaigned for improved support for victims of crime – highlighting the lack of support that she and her family received after the murder, and highlighting the lack of support given to many other victims of crime (ranging from the families of murder victims to families who have been bereaved by road accidents).
Helen Newlove set up Newlove Warrington on 8 November 2008, which aims to make the town a safer and better place for people to live and to improve facilities and opportunities for the children through education and life skills for the better of communities. The three goals for the campaign were to inspire people to lead a more purposeful life; motivating people to enrich their lives; providing opportunities for positive interaction with communities.[5]
Newlove has extended her campaign nationally by joining forces with the local and national media.
Peerage
editIn May 2010, Newlove was given a peerage in the 2010 Dissolution Honours list.[4] After the announcement was made Newlove commented that "I am just an ordinary woman, propelled into high profile by a set of horrifying circumstances which I wish with all my heart had never occurred."[4] Newlove took up her seat in the House of Lords as a Conservative on 15 July 2010 when she was introduced as Baroness Newlove, of Warrington in the County of Cheshire.[6]
On 5 March 2021, Newlove took up the office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.
Victims' Commissioner
editOn 21 December 2012 it was announced that Newlove had been appointed as the second victims' commissioner, a role requiring her to liaise with ministers to offer advice on aspects of the criminal justice system in England and Wales that affect victims and witnesses. The role had previously been held by Louise Casey, but had been vacant since she stepped down in October 2011.[7][8] Newlove took up the post on 4 March 2013, was reappointed for a second term in March 2016, and stepped down on 31 May 2019. She was succeeded by Dame Vera Baird.[9] It was announced that Newlove had been reappointed as Victims' Commissioner from 16 October 2023.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Baroness Newlove Is New Victims' Commissioner". Sky News. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ "Interim Victims' Commissioner appointed". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Newlove Killer's Appeal Refused". Sky News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Dissolution honours: John Prescott made a peer". BBC News. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ "About Us". Newlove Warrington. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ "No. 59491". The London Gazette. 19 July 2010. p. 13714.
- ^ "Baroness Newlove appointed as new victims' commissioner". BBC News. BBC. 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ^ "Baroness Newlove to be adviser on crime". The Times. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ Newlove, Baroness (2019). 2018/19 Annual Report: Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales (PDF) (Annual report). Victims' Commissioner. p. 4, 8.
- ^ "Interim Victims' Commissioner appointed". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
External links
edit- Newlove Warrington charity founded and run by Helen Newlove