Lessons not learned after Georgia Barter driven to suicide by abuse, says her mother

"An inquest earlier this year found that Georgia Barter, 32, experienced years of abuse at the hands of Thomas Bignell. The inquest, in Walthamstow, London, heard that even though Bignell was known to at least four police forces, officers were not always able to access information about previous reports or arrests on the police national database (PND) when they were called out to attend to incidents involving Barter."

"The hearing was told that the Metropolitan police and Essex police received multiple reports about Bignell's alleged abuse of Barter, including a report from a member of the public who told Essex police that Bignell had threatened to kill her. Bignell was arrested in 2012 after Surrey police received reports that he had hit and kicked Barter at a hotel. He was not charged in relation to the alleged assault."

Georgia Barter, 32, experienced years of abuse by Thomas Bignell and was judged to have been unlawfully killed after taking her own life following prolonged domestic abuse. Multiple police forces received reports about Bignell, including threats to kill and a 2012 arrest after alleged assault, but he was not charged. Officers attending incidents involving Barter were sometimes unable or unauthorised to access the police national database (PND), preventing them from seeing previous reports or arrests. A coroner identified widespread difficulty for frontline officers to access the PND. The government indicated it will not change how officers use the database, and the family says lessons remain unlearned.

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