A LOCAL MP led a debate in Parliament this week to urge the government to repeal the law on presumption of contact in family courts - and the inspirational Claire Throssell MBE says she now has ‘renewed hope’ everything she has been campaigning for will come to fruition.

Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, told the story of the horrific murder of Jack and Paul Sykes from Penistone in 2014, whose abusive father set fire to their house during a court-granted unsupervised access visit.

The father had a known history of domestic abuse, including making statements that he was capable of killing.

Despite this, he was granted five hours of unsupervised contact per week with the boy.

Their mother, Claire Throssell MBE, has been tirelessly campaigning to end the presumption of contact rule.

Claire - who recently handed in a 105,000-strong petition to Downing Street urging the government to put an end to avoidable child deaths - called on ministers to prioritise the safety of children by ending unsafe child contact with perpetrators of domestic abuse.

During the debate, Ms Tidball said: “Our government must do what the previous government failed to do -by taking a child centred approach and changing the law on presumption of contact.

“No more towns left to grieve the way my hometown has.

“No more parents given the ultimate life sentence of losing a child at the hands of an abusive spouse or partner.

“No more parents ever having to send their child on a court-ordered visit and then hold them tightly in their arms hours later as their child dies.

“This government must now act to save the lives of children for generations to come by ending contact at any cost.

“Let’s not just imagine a world where the voice of children are put at the heart of our family court system.

“Where children like Jack and Paul are listened to, not ignored; where they have a childhood free of fear and oppression; where children like Jack and Paul live the lives they deserved to live.

“I urge the government to make that world a reality.”

Claire, who travelled to Parliament on the day, clutched a photo of Jack and Paul while watching the debate.

She said: ““For far too long children’s voices have been lost in the Family Courts.

“For far too long survivors of domestic abuse and their children are made to feel invisible in the Family Courts.

“So hearing Dr Marie Tidball MP give a powerful speech and her voice for all the children including Jack and Paul who were silenced for eternity and for all the children living in fear and oppression in their own homes now.

“I was filled with renewed hope that this government will do the right thing - not the easy thing and repeal presumption from the Children’s Act altogether.

“Presumption about children’s safety and lives have led to too many of those children’s lives being taken because a Family Court has allowed it to happen.

“I welcome the news that the Ministry of Justice are listening and have completed their review into presumption of contact.

“I await this publication and hold tight to the hope that the culture of contact at any cost within the Family Courts will cease as a matter of urgency.

“When Marie was rightfully elected as my MP she promised to help me put an end to unnecessary child murders.

“I believe she will keep that promise and I will be forever grateful to her for her support and ongoing commitment to saving children’s lives.

“Not just for this generation but for generations of children to come.”