John and Penny Clough fought to contain their emotions as Keir Starmer told the Labour party conference of their tireless campaigning after their daughter’s murder and credited them with teaching him “how to keep your dignity under severe pressure”. Jane Clough, a 26-year-old nurse, was stabbed 71 times by her former partner outside Blackpool Victoria hospital in 2010. Clough had met Jonathan Vass, an ambulance technician and former bouncer, in 2007 at the hospital where he would eventually kill her. The pair began a relationship and moved in together the following year. The prosecution in Vass’s court case in 2010 described him as “a jealous man who wished to dominate and have complete control over Jane despite the fact that, unknown to her, he was carrying on a relationship with two other women at the same time.”.
Jane eventually reported him to the police, complaining to officers of months of physical and sexual abuse and repeated rapes that continued when she was heavily pregnant and after their baby daughter was born. He was charged with nine rapes and assault in November 2009 and detained in a holding cell. He told a work colleague that if he was found guilty he would kill Jane. The court heard that Jane kept a diary recording the abuse and her fears that if he was released he would kill her. “I’ve been worrying today about Jonny coming to get me, even killing me if he gets found guilty, when he’s released awaiting sentencing. What would stop him?” Another entry said her family, whom she had returned to live with, had been “rocked and devastated” when he was bailed on the rape charges, leaving her “extremely concerned for her safety”. In July 2010, while Jane was on her way to a night shift at A&E, Vass attacked her. The court was told that after stabbing her multiple times, Vass walked away momentarily, then returned to slit her throat. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to a minimum 30-year term but was never tried for rape. This was because under the rules around prosecution at the time, it was unlikely to be in the public interest as it would not lengthen the overall jail sentence. John and Penny became campaigners on behalf of domestic violence and rape victims, beginning with the prosecution guidance on rape, which brought them into contact with Starmer who was the director of public prosecutions. They also campaigned for changes in the bail act, to protect victims from abusers awaiting trial, and in favour of a stalkers’ register, and they helped found Jane’s Place in Burnley, a refuge containing 15 flats for women and children who have fled domestic violence. In 2012 Starmer wrote that meeting the Cloughs had helped to persuade him that the guidance for prosecutors should be changed, arguing that Jane had wanted Vass to be charged with rape and her murder had in effect denied her that justice. He also helped to amend bail legislation so that the victim gained the right to object to bail being given, later working alongside Doreen Lawrence on a “victim’s law”. At the Labour conference in Brighton on Wednesday, John and Penny sat next to Lawrence, a Labour peer, for Starmer’s speech. Starmer said he was “humbled by John, by Penny and by Doreen,” and described the three as friends. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org