Brianna’s mother meets mum of daughter’s killer

Esther Ghey said she felt a connection to Scarlett Jenkinson’s mother. The pair, both now aged 16, are serving life sentences for Brianna’s murder. Ms Ghey told the BBC she was open to meeting Scarlett’s mother, Emma Jenkinson, and did not blame her for what happened. The meeting of the two mothers took place in private last week.

It was set up through mutual contacts of their families. Ms Ghey described meeting Ms Jenkinson as emotional. She said she wanted to understand her perspective on what had happened to her. The mother-of-two also drew parallels between their experiences.

Esther Ghey met Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe for the first time. They discussed her campaign for mindfulness to be taught in every school in England. She also called for an age limit for smartphone usage, and stricter controls on access to social media apps. Ms Ghey said she felt hopeless about helping her own teenage children manage their phone use, and deal with it.

Last week Ms Ghey met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan to discuss her campaigns. She has support from the Labour MP for Warrington North, Charlotte Nicholls, and now hopes Scarlett’s mother will also agree to get involved. Ms Ghey said she had been practising mindfulness for many years. She credited it with helping her in the most difficult time of her life.

She said she wished such techniques had been more widely known when Brianna was a young child. It may not have saved her daughter’s life, she said through tears, but she would have been happier. Ms Ghey said she does not feel anger, hate or rage towards Emma Jenkinson.

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