As domestic abuse cases in the UK continue to rise, former Conservative MP Kate Kniveton has spoken out about the years of abuse she suffered from her ex-husband, former Tory MP Andrew Griffiths. In a new ITV documentary, Breaking The Silence: Kate’s Story, Kniveton shared how the abuse lasted for more than a decade and continued through legal channels even after she left the relationship.
Kniveton is now speaking out about what happened to her and how the family courts are failing to protect other victims too. "People don't think it can happen to professional middle-class people, but domestic abuse has no boundaries. It can affect absolutely anybody," Kniveton was quoted as saying to the Mirror UK.
"When I was elected I made a promise to be an advocate of victims of domestic abuse. 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 described how Griffiths had a public image as a campaigner for women’s rights. However, he was abusive behind closed doors. She said he would rape her while she was asleep and verbally abuse their baby. "It would start when I was asleep. I'd wake up and he would have started having sex with me," she said. "Sometimes I'd just think 'let it carry on' but there would be other times when I would cry. And those times he'd sometimes stop, not all times, but then he'd be in a foul mood if he did."
She also recalled being kicked out of bed and having to sleep in the spare room with the door barricaded. A turning point came when she saw the abuse directed at their newborn. "When our baby was just two weeks old I realised that the abuse may not stop with me. He turned round and said 'shut the F up' and it was said with such force and aggression," she said.
In 2018, Griffiths was caught sexting two constituents and later resigned. After this, Kniveton left the family home but had to fight the family court to stop him from seeing their child. In 2021, a judge found that Griffiths had raped and abused her. He denies the rape.
In 2019, Kniveton ran for Parliament against Griffiths and won. Through her new documentary, she wants to show how many family court cases involve abuse and why the system needs to change to protect victims and children.