Last week Roberta spoke in a debate in the Chamber on Online Abuse and how important it is that we clarify the law surrounding this issue so that victims can have justice and police officers can do their jobs. This is an area that Roberta feels extremely passionately about and she is actively involved in the “Reclaim the Internet” campaign, launched last year by Yvette Cooper MP.

In her speech, Roberta highlighted in particular the abuse that women face online and, whilst online abuse does affect everyone, statistics do indicate that women seem to be the recipients of particular vitriol.

Roberta also took the opportunity to praise the Chief Constable of Durham Police, Mike Barton, who has been at the forefront of calls for legislation to be updated and clarified to minimise the amount of time lost by police on cases where they have no chance of a prosecution.

If you would like to read Roberta’s full speech you can do so here:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-07-07/debates/16070729000001/OnlineAbuse#contribution-16070729000071