Brianna Ghey’s mother considers parent of her daughter’s killer ‘a friend’

Esther Ghey has revealed that she now considers the mother of her daughter’s killer “a friend”.

Brianna Ghey was murdered by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe in a premeditated attack in Cheshire in 2023.

But Ms Ghey says she has developed a close bond with Scarlett’s mother, Emma, because she “had lost a child too”.

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I really appreciate Emma. I would call her a friend now.”​

She added that Ms Jenkinson is “just a normal mother” who was unaware of her child’s online activities, highlighting “the danger with smartphones”.​

Reflecting on their shared grief, Ms Ghey said: “It’s helped me to see that we are both navigating something extremely difficult – and she’s lost a child too.”​

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, lured Brianna to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington where she was fatally stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in February 2023.

Jenkinson was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in December 2023 to a minimum sentence of 22 years in prison, and Ratcliffe to a minimum term of 20 years.

In the same interview, Ms Ghey also called for stronger measures to protect children in schools.

She supports a “blanket ban” on smartphones in schools across the country, citing concerns over how these devices can be misused by students.

She explained: “We need to support teachers in a blanket ban across England. If a school has banned phones in one area and in the same area another school hasn’t – it becomes an issue with parents.

“It needs to be done across the board to make it easier.”

Ms Ghey has met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his predecessor Rishi Sunak to discuss the issue and has criticised the Online Safety Act, saying it does not go far enough.

She has campaigned for an age limit on smartphone use, stricter controls on access to social media apps, tougher action on knife crime and for mindfulness to be taught in schools.