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Emily Maitlis says she fears her stalker of 20 years 'will never stop'

Emily Maitlis (Getty Images)
Emily Maitlis (Getty Images)

Emily Maitlis today said she feared the former university friend who has stalked her for more than two decades "will never stop".

The BBC Newsnight presenter also spoke about the criminal justice system's apparent inability to stop her stalker Edward Vines, 47, who has refused to give up his pursuit of her since they attended Cambridge University together in 1989.

Maitlis described her frustrations with the legal system and called for a new approach to treating stalkers in her first interview since Vines was jailed for a further 45 months in prison for breaching a restraining order by writing to her from inside jail.

He was first convicted of harassing Maitlis in 2002.

The BBC TV presenter told BBC Radio 5 live's Emma Barnett Show: "This has literally been going on for 20 years. It feels like sort of a chronic illness.

Edward Vines has refused to stop pursuing Ms Maitlis since they met at university (PA)
Edward Vines has refused to stop pursuing Ms Maitlis since they met at university (PA)

"It's not that I ever believe it will stop or he will stop, or the system will manage to prevent it properly."

It came after the Government apologised "unreservedly" to Ms Maitlis after Vines was able to write to her from prison.

Vines, who has refused to give up his pursuit of Maitlis since they attended Cambridge University together, was sentenced to a further 45 months in prison on Tuesday for breaching two counts of a restraining order.

He was previously jailed for three years in September 2016 after breaching a previous restraining order.

Ms Maitlis said the system failed not only her but Vines, who she believed was mentally ill.

"Whatever treatment he's had isn't working as a cure and he is obviously also a victim in this," she said.

"He is unwell and has wasted half his life. Stalking is a weirdo glamorised term for what is essentially mental ill-health and so somewhere along the lines we have to change the mechanism."

Telling how the stress of the situation has turned her into a "person who shouts at [her] kids for the wrong thing", she said the police had not done enough.

It was "bizarre beyond belief" that Vines was able to contact her from prison, she said: "It was something that should never have got through, but it is extraordinary to think that a stalker behind bars for corresponding can then carry on corresponding."

Individually, police have been "really caring and helpful" but official structures are fragmented when it comes to dealing with victims, she explained.

"You give a statement and you give an impact statement; you've got a prosecution and you've got a custodial sentence, and it's been meted out - and then 12 months later it happens all over again," she said.

"By that time it's a different policeman or a different investigator or people have changed jobs and somebody turns up at your house and says 'Right so what's all this about?' or 'Where did it all begin?', and for somebody who's been through this to have to relive that, it's punishing and it's humiliating."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said of the letters sent by Vine to Ms Maitlis: “We apologise unreservedly for this error and for the distress caused to the victim.

“We have significantly strengthened our monitoring procedures to prevent incidents like this from happening again.

"We would like to reassure the victim that any future correspondence involving this offender will be carefully checked, with staff reminded of the sensitivities of this particular case."