Victim of the infamous vicarage rape case to stand against David Davis
The victim of the infamous 1986 rape case at the vicarage in South Ealing is considering standing against Tory MP David Davis whose resignation sparked a by-election.
The rape law campaigner was raped at her vicarage home and her father then the vicar and boyfriend were badly hurt in the attack by burglars.
Ms Saward, who has waived her right to anonymity, accused Mr Davis of having nothing to say about sexual violence.
He quit his Haltemprice and Howden seat to stand up for civil liberties
.
The 59-year-old ex-SAS man said he hoped the move would begin a debate on Labour's 42-day terror detention limit.
But Ms Saward has argued in an article on her website that victims of sexual crime should come before suspected terrorists.
She also argues that the national DNA database should be extended rather than scrapped.
"Mr Davis thinks that by forcing a by-election he is standing up for British justice," she said. "In reality he is attempting to strike a hammer blow through the very tools the police need to keep us safe.
"When a shadow home secretary says nothing at all about such an important issue as sexual violence which affects thousands of people each year; and then resigns over an issue of limited pre-charge detention which may not affect anybody at all - then somebody's got their priorities wrong and somebody needs to get the issue of rape onto the agenda."
June 26, 2008