JULIE BINDEL: I've seen the terror caused by the loophole allowing sex offenders to change their names and attack women again

By JULIE BINDEL FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 01:40, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 02:24, 18 August 2026 A daily life full of stress and anxiety, punctuated by moments of sheer terror, is almost impossible for anyone to imagine who isn't living through it. But countless women today live in constant fear of a violent, sexually abusive ex-husband, former boyfriend, father or brother turning up at any hour of the day or night. And they can do precious little to protect themselves... as they don't even know the predator's new name. As the Daily Mail revealed yesterday in a shocking front page story, rapists and child sex offenders can change their names by deed poll more easily than most people can apply for a credit card, and for no more than the cost of a parking ticket. Former firefighter and karate instructor Jason Brown, 50, changed his name up to 20 times as he preyed on women and children, taking on a new identity each time he was found out. Even though Brown was first convicted of child sex offences in 2014, he was able to disappear off the official radar on his release from prison. The women he trapped in coercive, abusive relationships were unable to discover his previous convictions and history of sexual violence, because of the virtual anonymity afforded by this loophole in the law. I was sickened to read his story, but far from surprised. I've heard it too often before. One woman who approached me in 2023 said her father, Clive Bundy, had begun raping her about 15 years earlier, when she was eight. Jason Brown, 50, changed his name up to 20 times as he preyed on women and children, taking on a new identity each time he was found out This was sexual abuse as intense and appalling as anything I've ever encountered, and it went on for nine years, ending only when he was arrested on suspicion of trading in child porn. When police went through his computer, they discovered incontrovertible evidence that he had been raping his own daughter. He was jailed for 15 years – but, incredibly, he has already been released on parole after serving half his sentence... and is living under another name. I fully believe that a life sentence is the only appropriate measure a court can take in cases as extreme as this because that man will never cease to be a danger to women and children. This is only half the story. The full reality ought to convince anyone who hears it that our criminal justice system is not fit for purpose. For the law as it stands is actively putting women and girls at risk of violence from predatory men every day. While Bundy was in prison, his daughter was contacted by a victim support officer, who said he had her abuser's permission to inform her of his new identity. Her father was now female, said the official, and had a woman's name. He was calling himself 'Claire Fox'. Hearing of this, the former MEP and libertarian campaigner Baroness (Claire) Fox raised her concerns in the House of Lords in 2023. We need a root and branch reform of the system to ensure that we know exactly which men pose a serious risk, so that the criminal justice agencies can start tracking them properly, writes Julie Bindel Should sex offenders be allowed to change their names, risking victims’ safety and justice? What's your view?By legally changing his name, she told fellow peers: 'Bundy can distance himself from his crimes.' More disturbing still, his change of gender gave the rapist access to a second legal loophole. Baroness Fox explained: 'Something called a 'sensitivity application clause' gives transgender job applicants the choice not to record any information that would reveal their previous identity.' In other words, the former Clive Bundy had an officially ratified excuse for revealing nothing about his past to potential partners, employers or anyone else. His daughter told me that he had broken off contact with his parole officer and disappeared. No one knew where he was. She is a young woman of immense courage and determination, who waived her own right to anonymity in order to fight this injustice, although I have chosen not to name her here. She has no way of knowing where her incestuous rapist lives, or whether he has changed his name (or even his gender identity) again. The law permits all this. The Government knows about it. And nothing is done. Another woman I have interviewed was married to a violent, controlling and sexually abusive man for 40 years. She managed to escape his clutches while he was in prison for an attack on her. On his release, he changed his name. When she contacted the victim support service, they were able to tell her nothing other than the fact he was out of jail. As farcical as it sounds, his rights to privacy meant they couldn't tell her his new name. They did, however, assure her that he wasn't living nearby. This was not true. She discovered he had moved in with a woman just a mile away from her home. The new partner had no idea of his violent history – until he began to attack her. Even then, the probation service failed to flag up his past convictions. The system failed to recognise he had served time under a different name, and he was given a non-custodial sentence. The process of obtaining a new name via deed poll is far easier than you might think. An estimated 60,000 to 85,000 people do it each year, though the data is not tracked by Government so official figures do not exist. A simple online search reveals dozens of services that offer to assist in this process, for fees as low as £14.95. And anyone over 18 can apply. You can change your name simply by signing a declaration which you can draft yourself. The signature must be witnessed by at least one person, and that's it. Other documents such as a birth certificate must be supplied if the deed poll is to be made a public record through the Royal Courts of Justice. But 99 per cent of people who change their names don't do this. The mere declaration is enough for most banks and Government agencies, who ask only for a photocopy of the signed document. The vast majority who do this have legitimate and innocent reasons, of course. Many simply want to cement a relationship by adopting their partner's name, or by merging their names. Others want to regain their identity after a divorce, or distance themselves from their birth family. But the very ease of this process is an open invitation to predators who operate by covering their tracks. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of men like 'Jason Brown' who shed their past with a scrawl on a piece of paper. One of Brown's many aliases was 'Seb Coe', the name of one of Britain's greatest athletes. The real Claire Fox is a stalwart feminist, the sort of woman despised by trans activists. It's impossible to avoid the conclusion that, by picking such names, the deed poll predators are having a laugh, sneering at the legal system that enables so many of them to continue offending. We need a root and branch reform of the system to ensure that we know exactly which men pose a serious risk, so that the criminal justice agencies can start tracking them properly. If Andy Burnham wants to be seen as an effective PM, he needs to prioritise the safety and rights of women – not sex offenders. Lee Andrews 'remains in Dubai prison and is hated by fellow inmates over his constant lies' - as Katie Price keeps her wedding ring firmly on in new bikini snap