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'Shameful' that NI is most dangerous part of UK to be a woman

Jayne McCormack,Political correspondentand
Brendan Hughes,Political reporter, BBC News NI
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The deaths of Amy Doherty, Ellie Flanagan and Natalie McNally were spoken about in the Commons

It is shameful that Northern Ireland is the part of the UK where it is "most dangerous to be a woman," the Secretary of State has said.

Hilary Benn described the scale of violence against women and girls in the area as a "source of enormous sadness" and "shame".

He was speaking in the Commons following the murder of two women this month and the conviction of a man for murdering Natalie McNally.

Natalie McNally is one of 30 women to be brutally and violently killed in Northern Ireland since 2020.

It comes as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable said he has significant concerns about his force's capacity to deal with violence against women and girls.

The Northern Ireland secretary gave his reaction during questions from MPs on Wednesday and was responding to question from Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna.

The MP also referenced the recent deaths of Ellie Flanagan in Enniskillen and Amy Doherty in Londonderry.

PA Media Hilary Benn has short grey hair and thin black frames glasses and is wearing a dark suit.PA Media
NI Secretary Hilary Benn was speaking in the Commons following the murder of two women in NI this month

"We grieve with their families and we commend the family of Natalie McNally who with decency and dignity finally got justice," she said.

She said there were "outrageous and distressing levels of violence" against women and girls in Northern Ireland, describing it as a "menace and threat".

Benn also told the Commons that Labour's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill would close a "loophole" contained in the previous Conservative government legislation in relation to sexual-related offences during the decades-long conflict.

"There will now be a means of investigating any sexual-related offences that occurred during the period of the Troubles," he added.

'Acceptance around misogyny'

PA Media Jon Boutcher, a man with grey hair, wearing a white shirt, black tie and black and white lapels on his shoulders.PA Media
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said there seems to be an "acceptance around misogyny" which he had not seen before.

Earlier, the PSNI chief constable told MPs he had significant concerns about his force's capacity to deal with violence against women and girls.

Appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Jon Boutcher said he was committed to "prioritising" the PSNI's seven-year action plan aimed at ending violence, which launched in 2022.

However Boutcher warned that funding constraints within the service are making it difficult to tackle the issue.

Boutcher said he believed there seems to be an "acceptance around misogyny" which he had not seen before.

He pointed to what he called the "abhorrent" rise of online influencers like Andrew Tate, and said society needs to "draw a line and say this is not acceptable".

Amy Doherty murder investigation

A still of Davy Beck at a press conference. He is an older, bald man with a white beard. He is wearing a police uniform and has a neutral expression on his face.
Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck expressed his own tributes to the family of Amy Doherty

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck, who also appeared before MPs, expressed his own tributes to the family of Amy Doherty.

He said he had been the duty officer who received the call on Saturday morning.

"Your heart sinks when you're faced with another terrible situation... but within minutes officers were at the scene working hard to preserve life," said Beck.

He said the investigation was continuing at pace, but added: "The reality is that when I look at my detectives across the PSNI, we're just probably under 300 short of where we should be."

He said that undoubtedly had an impact in terms of the force's ability to investigate and safeguard in all areas of criminality, particularly more serious incidents.

Last week, the government's safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said Stormont was not lagging behind anywhere else in tackling the problem, as she updated MPs on efforts to address attitudes and behaviours online.

Boutcher said his concerns about adequate police resourcing stemmed from how officers managed the case of extreme online abuser Alexander McCartney.

In 2024, McCartney, from County Armagh, was given a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years in jail for the online sexual abuse of children and the manslaughter of a 12-year-old girl.

Boutcher said the police had referred its response to the Police Ombudsman, who found that the force did not have "sufficient resources" to tackle those kinds of cases.

He said on the basis of the proposed draft multi-year budget for Northern Ireland, which has yet to be agreed by the executive, the PSNI would start with a gap of £65m next year, that would rise to £96m the year after that and to £118m by 2028-29.

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