Brianna Ghey’s mum meets with mother of killer Scarlett Jenkinson

The in-person meeting in Warrington between Esther Ghey and Jenkinson’s mother and uncle was said to be ‘private and respectful’.

Brianna, from Birchwood, died aged 16 after being stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in Culcheth Linear Park on the afternoon of February 11 last year.

Jenkinson and fellow killer Eddie Ratcliffe, both aged 16 but 15 at the time of the killing, from Culcheth and Leigh respectively, were jailed last month.

Both received life sentences for the ‘frenzied’ killing, with the former being handed a minimum term of 22 years, and latter 20 years – although he is appealing this sentence.

Esther took time away from her campaigning, for better mental health support for children and for better online safety, to meet with Jenkinson’s family, with family, the Peace in Mind project and ways they could potentially work together being discussed.

Esther said: “The tragedy last year has affected so many, and changed so many lives.

Brianna Ghey and her mother Esther

“We lost our beautiful Brianna, but Scarlett’s family's lives have been changed forever too.

“I wanted to sit down with Scarlett’s family to find out how the last year had affected them.

“It was a positive and respectful meeting which allowed us to initially get to know each other.

“Although I do not want to go into any detail, we discussed family and the challenges of parenting.

“As a former teacher, Scarlett’s mum was really interested in the Peace in Mind campaign to get mindfulness training into schools through Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP,) and the campaign for better child safeguarding for social media and mobile phones.

“She agreed that things need to change, so we are looking at ways in which she can support both campaigns.”

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were jailed for life for murder

Esther continued: “I would welcome the chance of working with her moving forwards.

“I did not feel any anger or resentment towards Scarlett’s mum – in fact, it showed that tragedies have far-reaching ripples.

“It has been a tough year but I have been maintaining my mindfulness, which I believe has helped with resilience, compassion and empathy.

“Meeting Scarlett’s mum has reminded me how important that is to me.”

Esther recently met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan to discuss her campaigns, having met with Labour leader Keir Starmer earlier in the month.

Esther added: “Meeting the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Secretary of State is a great start in discussing the issues and challenges that face our children today.

“Yet it is only together that we can make true change – coming together with a common goal of making the world a better, safer place.

Brianna Ghey

“If Scarlett’s mum is keen to join me in our mission I would welcome her support, however at present, we do not have any firm plans on if or how that will happen.

“I have been overwhelmed by the support the Peace in Mind campaign has received, so to continue this legacy for Brianna, I wanted to create a community interest company to continue its good work.

“The new company is called Peace and Mind UK, and our mission is to create a safer, more empathetic and resilient society.

“Our two focuses remain around mindfulness in schools, where we will continue to work with MiSP to train more teachers across the country, and to continue our campaign for better safeguarding around social media and mobile phones.

“We have already been invited back to Westminster for a follow-up meeting with Michelle Donelan MP around the Online Safety Bill.”

For those looking to support the company, visit peaceandminduk.org