THE BRITISH government pledged yesterday to introduce a Bill to outlaw stalking "at the earliest opportunity" in an attempt to appease the police and Tory backbenchers.
After announcing that the government would kill off a Labour MP's private member's anti stalking Bill because it was "unworkable", the Home Office Minister, Mr David Maclean, was forced to announce alternative proposals following complaints from numerous Tory backbenchers and the police.
Mr Maclcan said the Bill would make stalking a criminal offence and he hoped it would be introduced during the next parliament.
Stalkers can cause untold misery. We want to remove the freedom stalkers have to terrorise innocent people. However, any changes in the law must be effective without infringing the rights of people to go about their legitimate business," he added.
However, the Labour MP, Ms Janet Anderson, whose private member's Bill called for offenders to be jailed for up to five years, accused the government of ensuring that the victims of stalkers suffer "another 12 months of misery" by failing to support her proposals.
Under Ms Anderson's Bill which was drafted following meetings with the Lord Chancellor and the Police Federation, it would become an offence to follow, watch, approach by telephone, interfere with property, leave offensive material or regularly visit "so that the other person is likely to be harassed, alarmed, distressed or to fear for their safety".
But the British Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, described these proposals as "unworkable" and said officials would now be studying anti stalking legislation in other countries.
The government's pledge follows a series of recent high profile cases, with victims including the Princess of Wales and Chris Eubank's wife Karron, who won a court injunction yesterday against a man she claims is terrorising her.
Under existing laws, police have found it difficult to prosecute stalkers. However, in a recent landmark case, Anthony Burstow, a former naval officer, was jailed for three years for inflicting grievous bodily damage through psychiatric damage.
He hounded his work colleague, Ms Tracey Sant, for more than three years by breaking into her home, stealing her underwear and sending her obscene packages through the post.
Initially the government had refused to introduce anti stalking legislation amid fears that it would "become a legal mine field" by infringing people's civil liberties. Police estimate that more than 3,000 people are stalked in Britain every year.
The Press Association adds The Princess of Wales had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday in an attempt to break a deadlock in divorce talks with Prince Charles.
It is understood that although the princess may have threatened to withdraw from the present divorce talks, she was appealing to the queen to use her influence to get things moving. The main sticking points are likely to involve money and possibly the princess's future public role.
Princess Diana (34) saw the queen after a meeting with her solicitor, Mr Anthony Julius, of the London law firm Mishcon de Reya, who reported that negotiations were still bogged down.
It seems Mr Julius and the prince's solicitor, Ms Fiona Shackleton, of the queen's lawyers, Farrer and Co, cannot even agree on some relatively minor details.