‘To me this is very personal’: MP Dehenna Davison, whose dad was killed by a single punch when she was just 13, launches cross-party effort to solve ‘burning injustices’ felt by victims of brutal one-hit attacks and their families
- Bishop Auckland MP’s dad Dominic killed in a Sheffield pub 14 years ago today
- He was aged just 35 and she was just 13 at the time he was hit by Mark Bailey
- Attacker was jailed for manslaughter but released after serving just 18 months
A Tory MP whose father was killed by a one-punch attack today launched a new cross-party effort to right ‘burning injustices’ felt by victims.
Dehenna Davison, the Bishop Auckland MP, spoke out on the issue on the 14th anniversary of the death of her father Dominic, who was just 35 when he was killed in a Sheffield pub.
The 27-year-old today announced the launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group for One-Punch Assaults which will examine sentencing and the impact on surviving victims and the families of those killed.
In a video announcing the launch she said: ‘To me this is very personal and feels like something I have wanted and needed to do for a really long time.
‘Every time I have spoken to victims or the families of victims there is a sense of burning injustice and I really want to get to the bottom of that.
‘So the APPG will be launching an inquiry into one-punch assaults where we are going to invite in victims who have life-changing injuries, the families of victims who are no longer with us, perpetrators, judges, lawyers of both sides, investigating police officers and anyone else with a really relevant interest in this.
‘Just to get to the bottom of what is really going on and to then pull together a report with a series of proposals that we can take to the ministry of justice regarding sentencing and victim support, which hopefully means we can drive forward some really positive change.’
In a video announcing the launch she said: ‘To me this is very personal and feels like something I have wanted and needed to do for a really long time’
Ms Davison posted a picture of her father on Twitter after the 2019 election, dedicating the victory in Bishop Auckland to her family
Davison became one of the youngest MPs in the Commons when she was elected in 2019 aged 26
Speaking in the House of Commons last month, Ms Davison describing how her father was attacked by a man drunk and on drugs.
She described the pain of learning her father’s killer was to be released after serving 18 months of his sentence and the ‘anger’ and ‘frustration’ which was felt by her nan after she saw the man for the first time after his release.
Ms Davison’s father had been drinking with his cousin at a pub in Sheffield in 2007 when his attacker, Mark Bailey, intervened in an argument the pair had been having.
The court heard that when the attacker punched Mr Davison in the face, he collapsed, causing a fatal brain injury. Bailey was later jailed for manslaughter.
Writing in the Northern Echo today, she said the punch which killed her father hit him in exactly the wrong spot, causing an artery to burst, and he died almost instantly.
‘Alongside trying to process the grief and shock of losing dad so suddenly, there was also the pressure and uncertainty of the court case, which took 10 months to complete, and ultimately left us with a burning sense of injustice,’ she said.
She was surprised by how many other families have been similarly affected by one-punch attacks and said there was a shared feeling that sentencing was too lenient.
Ms Davison said the group will also look at educating people about the true impact of violence.
Who is Dehenna Davison, the 27-year-old who turned Bishop Auckland blue for the first time in history?
Dehenna Davison is the first Tory MP for Bishop Auckland in history
Dehenna Davison was just a young teenager when she learned her father Dominic had been killed by a single blow to the head in the pub.
Ms Davison, a Tory winner last night in a Co Durham seat which has never elected a Conservative MP, recalled how she sat in a hospital waiting room as doctors battled for 45 minutes to save her father’s life.
‘I can still picture it. I can tell you what the colour the walls were and everything,’ she said. ‘They [the doctors] stopped and I went to see my dad’s body, which is not something you expect to do at such a young age.’
The Sheffield-born 27-year-old beat Labour Remainer Helen Goodman.
She studied politics at Hull University and spent a year as an aide to Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Ms Davison made the headlines when she appeared on Channel 4’s Bride & Prejudice alongside 59-year-old Tory councillor John Fareham in 2018, in a bid to convince her grandfather they were a good match.
She received support on the campaign trail from Mr Johnson’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds, said politics was about helping people ‘get their benefits claim through, getting a pothole filled’.
The former computer game shop worker admitted the ‘poster girl thing’ was probably due to her tragic backstory and her ‘slightly unusual demographics’. But she added: ‘I just want to get stuff done.’
Carrie Symonds tweeted her congratulations after her victory, saying she was thrilled to hear her friend had become the first Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland. ‘She will be fantastic,’ she wrote.