• Source:JND
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Ex-UK MP Kate Kniveton has made horrific confessions regarding the decade of physical and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her former husband and ex-Conservative MP Andrew Griffiths. Kniveton, who was the MP for Burton in Staffordshire between 2019 and 2024, has waived her right to anonymity to tell her story in a compelling new ITV documentary, Breaking The Silence: Kate's Story. Kniveton, 43, spoke to Metro and ITV about how Griffiths would regularly sexually attack her during sleep, leaving her helpless and traumatized. “It would start when I was asleep, I’d wake up, and he would have started having sex with me… Sometimes I’d just think ‘let it carry on’ but other times I would cry,” she said.

The ex-MP claims that Griffiths repeatedly threatened her whenever she attempted to report his abuse. "Every time I said I was going to the police, he'd say, 'Nobody would believe you, Kate. I'm the MP here. I have a great relationship with the police, they all think I'm the blue-eyed boy," she recalled.

Griffiths Once Campaigned For Women's Rights

Andrew Griffiths, once a rising star in the Conservative Party and a campaigner for women’s rights, previously served as chief of staff to future Prime Minister Theresa May. He was removed from government after it emerged he sent more than 2,000 sexually explicit messages to two female constituents in three weeks. In December 2021, a family court found Griffiths had raped and repeatedly assaulted Kniveton. He denies the rape allegations to this day.

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Kniveton told how Griffiths used to shout at their new baby girl to "shut the f** up"* when she cried for a feed, an incident that made her realize her child was in danger too. "People don't think it can happen to middle-class professional families, but domestic abuse has no boundaries," Kniveton added. She disclosed that even following their 2018 breakup, Griffiths employed the family courts to persistently harass her, prolonging proceedings for years. In February 2024, the High Court banned Griffiths from direct contact with his daughter.

Family Court System Under Scrutiny

Kniveton’s testimony highlights what campaigners say is a deeply flawed family court system in the UK, which handles nearly 30,000 domestic abuse cases each year. “I am traumatised, not just by the 10 years of abuse I experienced but the following five years where he continued to use the legal system to abuse me,” Kniveton said. Griffiths still maintains he has the right to visit his child, asserting the family court "let his child down".

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Kniveton, who took over from Griffiths as Burton MP after standing against him in the Conservative shortlist contest, hopes her ITV documentary will inspire more to come forward and call for change. "Having been elected, I vowed to speak out for domestic abuse victims. I want to ensure no one else goes through what I did," she added.