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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Maeve McClenaghan Investigations correspondent

‘You feel violated’: how stalkers outsource abuse to private investigators

A composite image of a photographer with a big lens, a car and women sitting outside a cafe
There is no licensing system for private investigators in the UK. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

As Laura stood in the court witness box, preparing to tell magistrates about her ex-husband’s obsessive nature, she flicked through the prosecution’s evidence file and saw the photographs. One of her leaving the house, another of her driving her car on the motorway. They had been taken by a professional. Staring at the grainy images, she felt numb.

Laura’s ex-husband had hired a private investigator to put her under surveillance. On two occasions she had been trailed, with the PI taking photographs of her as he went. Her ex-husband was later sanctioned with a stalking protection order, but the man he hired to facilitate his harassment was never even questioned.

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