Moment ex-wife of Tory MP breaks down in tears as she recalls moment he 'nearly strangled her to death' in their living room in horrifying campaign of 'rape and abuse'

Daily Mail​

21-07-2025

A former Conservative MP has revealed the moment she thought she was going to die while being strangled by her politician husband who abused her for ten years.
Kate Kniveton suffered a horrifying campaign of violence from Andrew Griffiths before battling a court ruling that he should still have direct contact with their child.
She told a new ITV documentary last night that her husband, also a former Tory MP who was the small business minister, would 'erupt' and attack her 'with no warning'.
Ms Kniverton added that he sexually assaulted in her sleep, screamed at their baby and used his power and position to silence her during a legal battle after their split.
Breaking down in tears as she recalled one attack in their living room, the former Burton MP told how they had been sitting on the sofa watching TV at the time.
Speaking during 'Breaking the Silence: Kate's Story', Ms Kniverton said: 'He just went for me and he actually ended up kneeling over me with his hands round my neck on the sofa. And I can remember at that point, I didn't think he was going to let go.
'He was strong, I was no match. And I can remember all I could think about at that point was my parents, because I didn't think he was going to stop.
'He's out there, he's in the newspapers every day, he's working hard, helping people. Every time I'd said I'm going to go to the police, 'They won't believe you Kate, who's going to believe you?' You'd think, actually he's right, who is going to believe me?'
Andrew Griffiths and Kate Kniveton at the Houses of Parliament after marrying in 2013
Ms Kniverton claimed her husband also told her: 'I'm the MP here. I've got a great relationship with the police - they all think I'm the blue-eyed boy.'
During the documentary, she also shed light on the workings of the family courts, where an estimated 30,000 cases each year involve domestic abuse allegations.
Ms Kniverton said: 'People don't think that it can happen to middle class, professional people. Domestic abuse has no boundaries. It can affect absolutely anybody.'
A family court ruling in 2021 found that Mr Griffiths had – on the balance of probabilities – pressurised Ms Kniveton into engaging in sexual activity as well as raping her multiple times and used 'coercive and controlling behaviour' against her.
The ruling on child contact was overturned the following year by a High Court judge, after Ms Kniveton's lawyer argued the previous judge was 'wrong to order direct contact'.
She also said the previous judge failed to 'consider the short, medium, and long-term harm of contact on the mother and the child', and failed to consider Mr Griffiths' 'capacity to appreciate the effect of past domestic abuse'.
In early 2024, Mr Griffiths made a bid for weekly supervised contact with their child, who he previously saw once per week via videolink for 30 minutes.
But a High Court judge ruled he could have no direct contact with his child in the 'reasonably short term', saying it would be in the child's best interests to only have contact with their father through letters for that period of time.
The judge said Mr Griffiths - who was the Burton MP from 2010 until Ms Kniverton took over the seat in 2019 - had accepted most of the findings made against him, except the finding that he had raped Ms Kniveton.
When asked to respond to the new programme, Mr Griffiths told ITV Exposure: 'I have always denied the allegations made. The family court has a much lower burden of proof and has always been private and confidential.
'The family court has failed our child. Publication of salacious allegations can only harm the children. Every child has the right to have both parents in their lives.
'I will never stop fighting to be a father to my child, and to demonstrate to them just how much I love them.'
Most domestic abuse victims who go to a family court in an attempt to protect their children cannot reveal any details of what happens during a hearing, with the threat of a two-year prison sentence for contempt.
But in Ms Kniveton's case, journalists Louise Tickle and Brian Farmer fought all the way up to the Court of Appeal for more than a year to publish details of the case, and succeeded in being able to name Andrew Griffiths in the public interest.
This means Ms Kniveton's case is unusual in that she is able to tell her story.
But she said: 'I am traumatised, not just by the ten years of abuse I experienced, but by the following five years in which he continued to use the legal system to abuse me.'
And her family court barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman added: 'It's very common when there are convictions of domestic abuse related offences for (a parent) to be allowed regular unsupervised contact with a child… children have been killed on the family court's watch. And some of those judges are still sitting.'
The programme followed Ms Kniveton as she met with other high-achieving women whose outward success masked abuse at home – looking at how abusers use tactics such as love-bombing and coercive control to isolate, manipulate and trap their partners.
One GP called Seema told her: 'People often ask, how did you get yourself into that situation? You know, you're a doctor, you should be able to recognise it.
'But it's incredibly difficult when it's happening to you because it's so insidious, it's so erosive. It starts off small and then it escalates. And, I think, before you know it, you're really in the thick of it.'
Another survivor, Laura, who is a high-ranking police officer, said that she felt unable to confide in anyone at work, adding: 'Explaining all that to another police officer - It's embarrassing.'
Ms Kniverton met a woman called Amy who said she had spent a decade fighting to protect her children from her dangerous ex-partner – whom was allowed to see the children unsupervised despite being violent towards them.
She also spoke with Jess Phillips MP, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, to look at what reforms could better protect survivors and their children.
Ms Philllips said: 'So much of what happens in the domestic abuse space is so hidden from the public's view.
'I think if people knew half of what you and I have seen, there'd be pitchforks… there is absolutely loads to do — it's so ingrained, whether it's in the court system or how councils commission local refuge and support services.'
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'Any case involving the death of a child is a tragedy, and our sincere condolences go out to the families [affected].
'We will see where improvements can be made to the Family Court system to help prevent these awful crimes.'
The department also said work is ongoing to ensure the family courts are safe for children and families, highlighting a pilot project called Pathfinder which aims to improve outcomes in private law cases.