I SPENT the early part of the week shepherding through the latest of many batches of Statutory Instruments to ensure the Brexit preparedness of the financial services industry in all eventualities.

However, Brexit took a back seat last week to allow further progress to be made on the landmark Domestic Violence Bill, which has now passed its second reading and is well on its way to becoming law.

I firmly support the bill and was pleased to have the opportunity to congratulate Rosie Duffield MP on her brave and moving speech in the Commons, recounting her personal experience of coercive control in a relationship.

I know from my postbag that her words struck a chord with several constituents who have survived abuse or who work with victims.

Whenever I visit the women’s refuge or deal with domestic violence related casework, one of the issues that comes up time and time again is the way that the process of seeking justice prolongs contact with the abuser.

I am delighted that one of the major provisions of the new bill prohibits the cross-examination of victims by their abusers in the family courts – an ordeal which affects an estimated 11,000 victims a year.

The bill also represents a quantum leap in society’s understanding of what constitutes domestic abuse.

For the first time, the law will contain a statutory definition of domestic abuse, making it crystal clear that abuse can take many different forms including psychological, physical, sexual, economic and emotional.

No one need be in any doubt that all are abuse and all are criminal.

The warm response to the bill from charities and groups involved with helping victims of domestic abuse has been heartening.

They have described it as a once in a generation opportunity to address domestic violence.

It puts an end to the system that too often expected victims and children to be the ones to uproot their lives while the perpetrators have remained invisible.

The bill also rolls out Claire’s Law across the country, making it possible for police to tell people at risk about a partner’s past convictions for domestic abuse.