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In the end, the women discovered there was no Lapland trip and no women's refuge - although they had given Cookes donations of food, clothes and money.

Cookes earned the families' trust, seeking donations for a women's refuge and collecting money for the fake Lapland trip.

Phillipson, who managed a women's refuge before becoming an MP, said it was important that "women – especially those who have experienced male violence, sexual violence and trauma – are able to access safe, therapeutic spaces" while ensuring that "everyone in our society is treated with dignity and respect".

She moved into a women's refuge and the children moved with her.

When her parents separated for good, she started living with her mother, at first in a women’s refuge.