Labour will tackle ‘scourge of femicide’ to hit manifesto target, says minister

Phillips said the ‘herculean’ task would involve fixing systemic problems in every government department. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

Tackling the “scourge of femicide” in the UK will be a central part of the government’s promise to drastically reduce violence against women and girls, the minister leading the policy has said.

Revealing details of one of Labour’s central missions in office for the first time, Jess Phillips said the success of the government’s target to halve violence against women and girls had to include reducing the rate at which women are killed by men.