Esther Ghey meets mother of her daughter’s killer

Brianna Ghey’s mother has met the mother of her daughter’s killer to discuss working together. She said afterwards: “Tragedies have far-reaching ripples.”

Esther Ghey sat down last week in their home town of Warrington with Emma Sutton, 49, a former teacher whose daughter Scarlett Jenkinson, 16, was convicted of stabbing the trans teenager. Jenkinson’s uncle was also there.

They discussed family, the two Peace in Mind campaigns that Ghey has set up and ways in which they could work ­together.

Ghey, 37, told the BBC: “The tragedy last year has affected so many and changed so many lives. We lost our beautiful Brianna, but Scarlett’s family’s lives have been changed for ­ever too. I wanted to sit down with Scarlett’s family to find out how the last year had affected them.

“It was a positive and respectful meeting, which allowed us to initially get to know each other. Although I don’t want to go into any detail, we discussed family and the challenges of parenting. I didn’t feel any anger or resent­ment towards Scarlett’s mum, in fact it showed that tragedies have far-reaching ripples.”

• Who are Brianna Ghey’s killers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe?

Ghey’s daughter was attacked aged 16 in a park in Cheshire in February last year by Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who were 15 at the time. Both were given life sentences for the “brutal, planned and sadistic” murder. Jenkinson, described by Mrs Justice Yip as having a “deep desire to kill”, must serve a minimum of 22 years. Ratcliffe, whose motivation was in part hostility to Brianna being transgender, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years.

Ghey commended Jenkinson’s family for having the “bravery” to meet her and said she had met Sutton to get “her perspective” on the murder. She said she could empathise with Jenkinson’s mum, who she shared an emotional connection with, and understood how someone would “never want to give up on their child”.

Ghey said: “You will always have that maternal instinct there. You want to support them, regardless. I just wanted to understand her perspective and to see basically what they’ve gone through as a family.

“I think she was so brave to actually come and meet me.”

After Brianna’s murder, Ghey, who previously worked as a food technol­ogist, announced plans to set up Peace and Mind UK, a community interest company (CIC), to continue campaigns on mindfulness and mobile phone use. She had previously set up the Peace in Mind campaign with the Warrington Guardian newspaper and attracted donations globally.

The campaign is attempting to allow school staff to receive training that will teach them to understand the mental health and wellbeing support that pupils need. It is also raising money for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), a charity that has been running since 2009.

Ghey said: “As a former teacher, Scarlett’s mum was really interested in the two Peace in Mind campaigns to get mindfulness training into schools … and better child safeguarding for social ­media and mobile phones.

“She agreed that things need to change, so we are looking at ways in which she can support both campaigns. I would welcome the chance of working with her moving forwards.

“It has been a tough year but I have been maintaining my mindfulness, which I believe has helped with resilience, compassion and empathy. Meeting Scarlett’s mum has reminded me how important that is to me.”

Last week Ghey also met Rishi Sunak and Michelle Donelan, the science and technology secretary, to discuss her campaigns. She had previously met Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader. The latest meetings came after the prime minister was criticised for comments he levelled at Starmer during prime minister’s questions about defining a woman while Ghey was in parl­iament.

Ghey added: “Meeting the prime minister and leader of the opposition and the secretary of state is a great start in discussing the issues and challenges that face our children today. Yet it is only together that we can make true change, coming together with a common goal of making the world a better, safer place.

“If Scarlett’s mum is keen to join me in our mission then I’d welcome her support. However, at present we don’t have any firm plans on if or how that will happen.”

Ghey said her new CIC’s focus would remain on mindfulness in schools and said that it would continue to work with the MiSP to train more teachers across the country. It would also continue to campaign for better safeguarding on social media and mobile phones.

• Brianna Ghey’s mother: Give children smartphones without apps

She added: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support the Peace in Mind campaign has ­received. So to continue this legacy for Bri­anna, I wanted to create a community interest company to continue its good work. Our mission is to create a safer, more empathetic and resilient society. We have already been invited back to Westminster for a follow-up meeting with Michelle Donelan MP around the Online Safety Bill.”

For those looking to support Peace and Mind UK, visit peaceand­minduk.org