Jade's Law passed to limit rights of killer parents

Jade Ward was stabbed and strangled in her home by Russell Marsh in 2021

A law campaigned for by the parents of murdered Jade Ward has become one of the last passed by this parliament.

Ms Ward, 27, was stabbed and strangled in her home in Shotton, Flintshire, by Russell Marsh in 2021.

Her family campaigned to strip him of his parental rights.

The Victims and Prisoners Bill was one of last to be passed before the general election.

The creation of Jade’s Law means parents who kill someone they have children with will have parental rights suspended on sentencing.

Russell Marsh is serving a life sentence but contacted the Wards for pictures of the couple’s children and their school reports.

Parental rights will now be automatically restricted so bereaved relatives will not have to apply for this.

The UK government said the law will protect children by preventing killers from unduly influencing their lives.

The rule will apply to anyone convicted of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of someone they share parental responsibilities with and be reviewed by a judge to ensure it is in the child's interests.

There will be an exemption in cases where domestic abuse victims kill their abusers.

Marsh was jailed for a minimum of 25 years

Ward family friend Edwin Duggan helped shape Jade’s Law with Jade's parents Karen Robinson and Paul Ward.

He said: “ I feel really proud that it’s finally been passed. It’s been a long journey over the last couple of years."

It was, he said, a shame, the law could not be imposed retrospectively, so will not apply to Russell Marsh.

"I’ll continue to lobby MPs to make it retrospective,” he said.