Now controlling clothes and friends can be crime!

'Before you know it you could be in a Police State where a little bit of aggro could lead to the police being involved and someone being carted off to the police station.'

The proposals were published yesterday by the Domestic Violence Law Reform Campaign, which said existing laws fail to take into account 'power and control' in relationships.

It is calling on ministers to criminalise 'coercive control' and behaviour which causes psychological harm. Laura Richards, director of Paladin said: 'It is possible for the law to criminalise a course of conduct and move beyond physical injury.'