Violent history of partners will be disclosed as 'Clare's Law' rolls out

Clare’s Law is to be expanded to cover all of England and Wales. This allows people to check the police records of their partners.

17:26 25 November 2013

Clare’s Law, which allows people to check the police records of their partners, was piloted in Greater Manchester, Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire, and Gwent in September 2. Now, it has been revealed that it will be expanded to cover all of England and Wales.

The law was named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009. Unbeknownst to her, her boyfriend had a string of prior domestic abuse charges against him. 

Home Secretary Theresa May, said: "Clare's Law provides people with the information they need to escape an abusive situation before it ends in tragedy," she said.

"The national scheme will ensure that more people can make informed decisions about their relationship and escape if necessary.

"This is an important step towards ensuring we do better by women like Clare Wood in the future."

A Scottish government spokesperson said that domestic abuse is taken very seriously and that: "We will follow the rollout of this pilot across England and Wales with interest, in particular the evaluation, and consider the role that this initiative can play in Scotland."