A FAMILY has vowed to keep campaigning for a change in the law in order to have parental responsibility taken away from those who murder their child's other parent.

MPs debated the Jade's Law petition - which received more than 130,000 signatures - on Monday afternoon.

The petition came in the aftermath of the murder of much-loved Jade Ward, aged just 27 and from Chevrons Road in Shotton.

In August last year, she was brutally killed by her estranged husband Russell Marsh.

Since his sentencing, Jade’s family and friends have been campaigning to automatically suspend the parental responsibility of a parent who kills the other one.

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami presented the petition to colleagues and Minister of State for Victims and Sentencing Edward Argar MP at Westminster Hall.

He said the law would put "the onus on the killer" to jump through legal hoops in order to prove they deserve parental responsibility, as opposed to putting the burden on the victim's family.

And although the Minister did not commit to implementing the demands of the Jade’s Law campaign, he did concede that the current process of revoking parental responsibility is “time-consuming.”

He also offered an "olive branch" of sorts, in the form of a future meeting between himself, Mr Tami and Lord Bellamy KC in order to further discuss how the Government can best deliver on their commitment to safeguard children.

The Leader: Jade Ward Jade Ward (Image: UGC)

READ MORE: MPs have their say on parental responsibility during Jade's Law debate

Edwin Duggan, legal researcher at Faculty of Policing, Forensics and Law at Staffordshire University, set up the Jade's Law petition and has been working with Jade's family to campaign on the matter.

Following the debate, he said: "The present stance is that the courts have the power [to decide on whether parental responsibilities are restricted.]

"But if Jade's Law comes into effect it could be tweaked to keep the court in the process.

"[The Minister] couldn't say anything was going to be done from the Government's point of view, but there was a bit of an olive branch passed out, so there could well be something to come from that.

"In the next few weeks we will let Mr Tami do his job and see what transpires from there.

"As a group we will certainly keep the pressure on until Jade's Law is enacted in some shape or form.

"The family seemed extremely happy about the debate, and we came away feeling quite positive.

"Obviously politics is a very fickle thing, and we need to keep the pressure on in the meantime."

Mr Duggan said the family was also very pleased to hear from Labour’s frontbench representative, Ellie Reeves MP, the Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation, who told the debate a Labour Government would "put Jade’s law on to the statute book."