Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin calls for tougher sentencing for domestic murders in light of Poppy Devey Waterhouse case

Poppy was killed by her ex-partner Joe Atkinson with a kitchen knife in 2018 and he received a lesser sentence of 16 years and two months because the weapon was already in the home. Under current sentencing guidelines, a murder weapon taken to the scene carries a minimum imprisonment of 25 years.

She said: “My heart goes out to Poppy’s family for their devastating loss, which is yet another horrific example of male violence towards women and girls. This case highlights a shocking disparity in murder sentencing rules that is bringing further heartache to the families of murder victims.

"It can’t be right that you receive a sentence that’s ten years lighter, just because you pulled the knife from the kitchen drawer, rather than from your pocket. I have raised this with the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, and will be fighting their corner to seek tougher sentencing in these cases.”

The victim’s mother, Julie Devey, is campaigning for a law change and recently met with the Mayor and West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE.

Julie said: “As soon as we were told that the sentence that would be handed out to our daughter’s killer would be starting at a point ten years less than if she was killed out on the street, we were horrified. Domestic Homicides often use ‘overkill’, which is more force than is necessary. In Poppy’s case, she endured 49 knife wounds and over 100 injuries altogether.

“These facts appear to be ignored by the justice system as it stands. By having a minimum starting tariff at 15 years, these victim’s lives are diminished. It sends a very clear message to families and the public that those lives were worth less than those taken outside.”

Deputy Mayor Alison Lowe OBE said: “I completely empathise with the situation that the family continue to face and how the sentencing guidelines have further impacted their lives. I am also aware of the Government’s Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review, but we are yet to see the findings and recommendations, which were personally promised to Poppy’s mother by the now Deputy Prime Minister.”