Council leader says man threatened to kill her
BBCA council leader has said a man threatened to kill her at a petrol station and she must wait until the end of next year for the case to come to court.
Oldham Council's Arooj Shah told the BBC delays in the justice system are adding to the threat she feels under as someone in public life.
The Labour politician spoke after Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols revealed she waited 1,088 days to go to court after being raped.
In a powerful Commons speech during a debate on restricting jury trials, Nichols described the wait as "agony". Her attacker was acquitted but later ordered to pay compensation when she won a civil case against him.
Speaking on BBC Politics North West, Shah said: "I myself was threatened in a petrol station about seven months ago by someone who said he was going to kill me.
"I have to wait until the end of 2027.
"He is walking around free [and] I know how that makes me feel.
"I am someone in public life and actually I feel that threat all the time."
She said "something has to change" with a justice system she described as "not fit for purpose".
"Sometimes when there is a delay the quality of the case diminishes.
"It just can't stay the way it is."
Ben Fletcher, the Conservative candidate for Cheshire mayor, also told the show: "Justice delayed is justice denied, there is a need to speed it up."
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