Newlove widow to be Tory peer after drink campaigns

[dutchman]

Helen Newlove, whose husband Gary was murdered in 2007, is expected to be elevated to the House of Lords.

The appointment follows her work as a campaigner against drink-related violence after Mr Newlove was kicked to death by drunken teenagers.

She is the chair of the National Licensed Trade Association (NLTA) and accompanied new Prime Minister David Cameron in Bolton during the election.

The government has committed to balance the Lords with selected peerages.

'Kicked like football'

Mrs Newlove launched the NLTA earlier this year to encourage better training for pub workers and a more responsible drinking culture in the UK.

The murder of her husband led to renewed national debate about Britain's youth culture.

He had walked out of his home on 10 August 2007 to confront a gang which had vandalised his wife's car, but was set upon and "kicked like a football" in front of his family.

Three teenagers were sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder.

The coalition government has announced it will create a number of new peerages to "balance" the House of Lords so it better reflects the share of votes won in the election.

[dutchman]

If it was up to me, juries would consist entirely of the victims of similar unprovoked violent attacks.
(There, been wanting to get that off my chest since 1988).