Story behind tragic Spalding double murder is saving lives thanks to campaigning Hart brothers

A meeting with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is fuelling fires inside brothers Ryan and Luke Hart as they campaign to keep women safe at home and on the streets.

On July 19, 2016 their controlling and abusive father Lance Hart murdered in cold blood their mum, Claire Hart, and younger sister Charlotte (19) before turning the gun on himself in a Spalding car park.

Ryan and Luke gave Claire and Charlotte a voice in their book, Operation Lighthouse, and - by lifting the lid on domestic abuse - they are also saving lives.

Jeremy Corbyn wrote the foreword to Operation Lighthouse and on the day the double-murders shocked a nation, the Labour leader went on Twitter to express his condolences.

Last week, the Hart brothers watched Jeremy Corbyn hold Theresa May to account during Prime Minister’s Questions before having lunch with the Labour leader and his team.

Ryan told us “For the past few years, Jeremy has been a real inspiration for us both - both his unyielding drive to create a better society and the passion for which he goes about this.

“After lunch, we were invited to Jeremy’s office where he kindly signed a copy of Operation Lighthouse for us along with a copy of the Labour manifesto.

“We then were able to get photos with Jeremy on the same balcony we recognised from the photos of the snowball fight earlier this year.”

“To us, Operation Lighthouse is more than a book, it is our mother and sister’s voice and it has become new meaning and purpose for us both.”

Twenty-five years of abuse from the brothers’ father led up to the double-murder. Ryan says: “The country rushed to sympathise with our father, making up ‘reasons’ for what he did in an attempt to excuse him. Immigrants and minorities in our society were even initially blamed for what was the deadliest mass shooting in the United Kingdom since the Cumbria shootings in June 2010.

“Jeremy Corbyn, however, stood against the tide of xenophobia, misogyny and hatred. He tweeted his condolences to the family involved and showed compassion in a time we needed it most.”

While writing their book, the brothers reached out to Jeremy Corbyn to see if he wanted to be involved.

Ryan said: “Given how incredibly busy he is, we were surprised to hear back from him, let alone his offer to write the foreword.

“It was an incredible honour to meet him in person, and has fuelled the fire inside us to keep pushing for a society where women are safe in their homes and on our streets.

“Our book was never intended to be published; it acted as a means for Luke and I to communicate to each other when we both felt ready.

“It was a means to explore the truth in our lives and unravel the false narratives we were fed as children.

“We had just begun speaking at conferences and police training events when our drive to finally publish Operation Lighthouse presented itself.

“We received a message from a woman who had heard us speak at a conference and subsequently left an abusive relationship. It was later found out by the police that the lives of herself and her children were at serious risk of harm or even murder; sharing our story had potentially saved their lives.

“We discovered that our story had value, and that it was our moral duty to use our devastating story for good; to share it with the world.”

Operation Lighthouse has been a consistent best seller on Amazon, even reaching #5 at one point in top selling books out of six million.

Ryan said: “We had initially self published our book and within the first week of its release, multiple publishers contacted us with offers to help us widen the reach of our book.”

The brothers have now signed with Orion, who will distribute Operation Lighthouse into book stores, airports, hospitals and more over the coming months.

Ryan said: “Domestic abuse isn’t just an epidemic in the UK; it is worldwide.

“We hope to be able to have Operation Lighthouse translated into multiple languages and take our story global. Almost daily we receive messages either through our website, our Twitter or our Facebook from men and women who have changed their lives around after reading our book.

“To us, Operation Lighthouse is more than a book, it is our mother and sister’s voice and it has become new meaning and purpose for us both.”