Calls are growing to ban smartphones in schools in England by law, as education experts and unions back an MP’s attempt to push a new law through Parliament.

Children “doomscrolling for hours a day” is causing widespread harm, according to Josh MacAlister, the Labour MP and former teacher behind the private member’s bill being introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Most schools in England already have a ban or restrictions on phone use, after government guidance was introduced earlier this year.

But Mr MacAlister wants to turn the guidance into law, as well as bringing in what he calls “seatbelt legislation” for children’s social-media use.

MPs could debate the proposals in the new year, if there is enough parliamentary time.

Private members’ bills rarely make it into law without government backing but they are an opportunity for backbenchers to raise an issue’s profile.

And the Safer Phones Bill adds momentum to growing calls to restrict children’s smartphone use, with local schools coming together to revise their phone policies and parent groups joining forces to delay giving their child a smartphone.

Some of those in favour of smartphones say they provide good opportunities for child development, including socialising, and there is little evidence supporting restrictions of devices in schools.

Mr MacAlister is using the bill to call for:

• a legal requirement for all schools to be mobile-free zones

• the age online companies can receive data consent from children without permission from parents to be raised from 13 to 16

• Ofcom’s powers to be strengthened so it can enforce a code of conduct to prevent children being exposed to apps and services “addictive by design”

• further regulation of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by under-16s, if needed

“Countries around the world are now taking bold action and our children risk being left behind,” Mr MacAlister, who previously led an independent review into children’s social care, said.

“It’s time to have the national debate here in the UK.”

The bill is being backed by former Conservative Education Secretary Kit Malthouse MP, the current and former children’s commissioners and a coalition of parents’ campaign groups, school leaders, children’s charities and teaching unions.

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’lasio said: “It is not enough to rely solely on parents and schools teaching children about the dangers of smartphones.

“We have reached a point where regulation is required over their sale and the conduct of online platforms.”

Ormiston Chadwick Academy, in Cheshire, became a phone-free school at the start of this term.

Principal Jennifer Lowry-Johnson says the school has always had a no-phone policy, where devices were put away in bags or “out of sight” in blazer pockets, but the distraction was still there.

Now, pupils who bring in a phone must put it in a locked box for the day.

“I have seen a huge increase in the number of students coming to access lunchtime football,” Ms Lowry-Johnson says, as well as fewer students wanting to go to the toilet at breaktime and during lessons “to check notifications”.

“We have already seen over a 50% reduction in the number of safeguarding referrals made with regards to social media and content that we would deem inappropriate,” she adds.

When the policy was announced, Year 11 student Emilia could not believe the school was going to take her phone off her but now says: “It’s basically taken my anxiety away from me.

“My friend group used to be very volatile, with social-media drama,” she says.

“It used to kick off between girls.

“Now, we have gotten closer.

“People who used to cause drama no longer have a place to put it.”

Her friend Dewmi agrees and says her parents have noticed she has been studying “a lot more” than before.

Rebekah Wersh-Bale, from Macclesfield, has not let her 10-year-old daughter have a smartphone but is worried about her being isolated from her peers.

“It does concern me that she is going to feel like she doesn’t have anything in common with them,” she says.

“Because if they’re spending more time online and she isn’t, she’s going to feel left behind socially.”

Her daughter hates her no-phone rules and it has become a real point of contention, Ms Wersh-Bale says, but children do not understand how apps are designed to be addictive and banning them in all schools is a “no brainer”.

Social-media companies, including Snapchat and Meta, have previously said they have extra protections for under-18s and help parents control what their children see.

Earlier this month, Instagram also launched Teen Accounts, where 13-15-year-olds are given private accounts by default and protections to help them manage their time on the app.

Meta, Snapchat and TikTok have not responded to BBC News’s request for further comment.

The SNP’s Westminster leader has described his “great personal sorrow” that Alex Salmond “will not live to see an independent Scotland” following his death on Saturday, aged 69.

Stephen Flynn led tributes at Westminster to the former first minister with messages of condolence coming from MPs from across the political spectrum.

Salmond was first elected to the UK parliament in 1987, serving as an MP until 2010, and again from 2015 until he lost his seat two years later.

The former first minister died from a heart attack during a trip to North Macedonia.

Discussions on arrangements to repatriate his body to Scotland are under way.

Chris McEleny, general secretary of the Alba party, flew to North Macedonia following Salmond’s death to help with the process.

He told BBC Scotland’s Drivetime programme: “I’ve got one last job to do for Alec and that’s to get him home for his family.

“For his family’s sake, friends, we should get him home as quickly as possible. And for all that he’s done for Scotland, I think it’s the least that we can do for him.”

McEleny has called on the UK government to grant approval for his body to be flown directly back to Scotland. He added bringing him home on a commercial flight could take a “significant amount of time”.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said they were providing consular support to his family and were in discussions with local authorities and the Scottish government.

During his tribute in the Commons, Stephen Flynn recalled the night that Alex Salmond lost his seat at Westminster during the 2017 general election.

He said: “It is a moment that I will never forget, not because of the nature of his defeat but for what happened next.

“Within just a few moments Alex Salmond took to the podium and gave a speech which despite the despair that all of us in the SNP felt in the room that night, made us feel 10 feet tall.”

Flynn described Salmond as “the most talented, formidable and consequential politician of his generation”.

“The challenge for all of us now in the nationalist movement is to make sure we put good his legacy and deliver the future that he so badly fought for throughout his distinguished parliamentary career,” he added.

The Speaker of the House of Commons paid tributes to to Salmond earlier, stating he “leaves a deep and lasting legacy behind him”.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “The thoughts of this whole house will be with his family and friends at this difficult time”.

Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray said no MP “was given an easy ride” by Salmond but added he had left an “indelible mark”.

“It is impossible to overstate the impact Alex had on Scotland and our politics after half a century of involvement from student activist to first minister,” he said.

“Whether you agreed or disagreed with his political objective there is no denying the rigour and commitment he pursued that goal.”

Murray added that while the pair disagreed on many things they shared a love for Heart of Midlothian football club.

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland John Lamont said Salmond was “undoubtedly a giant in Scottish and United Kingdom politics” who was “passionate, formidable, impressive and hugely charismatic”.

Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland Alistair Carmichael said the “survival of a Scottish white fish industry today” was “as a result in no small part” of Salmond’s work during a time when cod stocks in the North Sea fell.

He added the former first minister was “a man whose like we may never see again”.

Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts said Salmond was a “friend of Wales” and added it is “difficult to overstate the influence he has had on the nationalist movements not just in Scotland but in Wales too.”

Reform UK’s Richard Tice described Salmond as a “truly great man,” who was “so generous with his words of advice and wisdom”.

First Minister John Swinney has lodged a Motion of Condolence at the Scottish Parliament to mark the passing of the former first minister.

Books of condolence have been opened in the Scottish Parliament’s garden lobby and public hall for MSPs and members of the public to leave messages.

The flags at St Andrews House and the Scottish Parliament were lowered as a mark of respect.

Flags will be lowered again on the day of the reading of the Motion of Condolence and again on the day of Mr Salmond’s funeral.

Holyrood is currently in recess until 26 October.

Former Labour cabinet minister Jim Murphy’s company has been lobbying Sir Keir Starmer’s government on behalf of arms manufacturers, oil companies and energy giants.

The clients of Murphy’s Arden Strategies have been published in the UK’s lobbying register for the first time since Labour’s general election victory in July.

Arden was required to declare the companies it works with in the register this week under transparency rules.

Murphy’s firm is one of the most prominent lobbyists of the new Labour government.

A spokeswoman for Arden Strategies told the BBC: “We are proud of the work we do in support of many successful businesses.”

Over the past 12 months, Arden has spent tens of thousands of pounds sponsoring Labour conferences and events, including helping more than 30 aspiring Labour MPs raise funds for their campaigns.

Arden also works for the Premier League which, alongside individual football clubs, has given tens of thousands of pounds in freebies to Labour politicians, including Sir Keir.

Among the 29 companies Arden Strategies lists as clients is defence giant Northrop Grumman, which supplies weapons components to militaries across the world including the Israeli Defence Forces.

Arden hosted an event on behalf of Northrop Grumman at last month’s Labour conference in Liverpool.

Murphy also represents the Premier League, which opposes Labour’s plans for a new football regulator.

The league and top clubs have spent more than £100,000 entertaining politicians in recent years. This includes £4,000 of Taylor Swift tickets given to Sir Keir, which were not among the gifts the prime minister later returned.

Arden’s oil and gas clients include NEO Energy, Equinor, Jersey Oil and Gas, and Serica Energy, which has described Labour’s tax plans as “unjustifiably punitive”.

Other clients include Centrica, Cadent, Trainline, INEOS, Universities UK and the British Soft Drinks Association.

A spokeswoman for Arden said: “Arden Strategies, in common with dozens of agencies and hundreds of companies, including the BBC, entered into commercial sponsorship at political events.

“The BBC’s, Arden’s, and many other companies’ commercial sponsorships of those events are not treated as political donations. As you will be aware, this is the general approach that is taken in relation to corporate sponsorship of all political party events.”

On Monday, Murphy’s company Arden Strategies listed its clients in the latest version of the Register of Consultant Lobbyists. The rules require firms only to disclose the lobbying of government ministers, not opposition frontbenchers.

The company is not listed as a member of trade body Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), which requires members to list public affairs clients.

Arden provided support to more than 30 prospective Labour MPs in the run-up to the general election, according to social media posts seen by the BBC.

The total amount Arden spent is not known because the individual sums appear to have fallen below the threshold for sponsorship to be declared by MPs.

Two newly elected Labour MPs, Anna Turley and Blair McDougall, used to work for the lobbying firm.

Arden Strategies spent £1,200 sponsoring a fundraising event for four candidates who went on to become Labour MPs. Budweiser contributed £9,000 towards the event.

One of those who benefited, Sarah Hall, the new Labour MP for Warrington South, said she did not anticipate receiving further support from Arden this year.

Arden also spent £2,320 on a fundraising dinner for three candidates fighting seats on the South coast.

Labour said: “We comply with all lobbying rules and regulations and all donations are declared in line with Electoral Commission rules.”

Jim Murphy was a Labour MP for 18 years and held ministerial jobs under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including as Europe minister and Scottish secretary.

He was shadow defence secretary and shadow international development secretary under Ed Miliband’s leadership before briefly leading Scottish Labour and then losing his Westminster seat at the 2015 general election.

Labour candidates who hosted fundraising events sponsored by Arden Strategies include:

Jack Abbott – Ipswich

Jess Asato – Waveney

Rachel Blake – Cities of London & Westminster

Elsie Blundell – Heywood & Middleton

Jonathan Brash – Hartlepool

Sarah Coombes – West Bromwich East

Pamela Cox – Colchester

Keir Cozens – Great Yarmouth (not elected)

Torcuil Crichton – Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Helena Dollimore – Hastings

Kirith Entwhistle – Bolton North

Hamish Falconer – Lincoln

Natalie Fleet – Bolsover

Sarah Hall – Warrington South

Tom Hayes – Bournemouth East

Claire Hazelgrove – Filton & Bradley Stoke

Adam Jogee – Newcastle Under Lyme

Satvir Kaur – Southampton Test

Martin McCluskey – Invercylde

Kim McGuinness – North East Mayor

Josh MacAlister – Whitehaven & Workington

Perran Moon – Cambourne & Redruth

Darren Paffey – Southampton Itchen

Michael Payne – Gedling

Jo Platt – Leigh

Joe Powell – Kensington

Mike Reader – Northampton South

Oliver Ryan – Burnley

Mark Sewards – Leeds South West and Morley

Alan Strickland – Sedgefield

Melanie Onn – Great Grimsby

Mike Tapp – Dover

Ben Taylor – Croydon South (not elected)

Fred Thomas – Plymouth Moor View

Dan Tomlinson – Chipping Barnet

Anna Turley – Redcar

Katie White – Leeds North West

The acting leader of the Alba Party says he hopes Alex Salmond’s legal case against the Scottish government continues after his death.

Kenny MacAskill said the decision was for the former’s first minister’s family to make but that he would support court action to expose alleged wrongdoing.

Salmond was in the process of suing the Scottish government over a botched investigation into harassment complaints when he died of a heart attack on Saturday.

The government previously vowed to defend itself “robustly” in court.

Salmond’s close friend David Davis, a Conservative MP, has also vowed to secure “justice” for the ex-SNP leader.

In November last year, Salmond lodged a Court of Session petition seeking a reported £3m in damages and loss of earnings.

He had already been awarded more than £500,000 in costs by the Scottish government over the mishandling of harassment complaints against him.

The former first minister, who launched Alba in 2021, was also cleared of sexual assault charges at a subsequent criminal trial.

MacAskill, an ex-SNP cabinet colleague of Salmond, said he would support the legal action if the family decided to push forward with it.

He told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “My own position is that I will respect whatever the family decide.

“But I would certainly hope and I believe that they are likely to continue this, because that court case will expose, I believe, malfeasance amongst individuals and institutions that really has to be brought out to allow history to properly remember Alex Salmond.”

The former first minster has sued the government for misfeasance – a civil law term that means the wrongful exercise of lawful authority.

After someone dies, the executors of their estate are able to pursue claims for past damages.

However, if they lost the case, the estate could be liable for legal costs. An executor could also be personally liable for making a decision which no reasonable executor would.

Salmond was claiming damages for injury to him – not physical injury, but an alleged loss of earnings due to his treatment by the government.

His lawyers claimed Holyrood officials acted “improperly, in bad faith and beyond their powers with the intention of injuring” the ex-SNP leader.

His team said that they did not recognise the £3m figure, but said the claim for damages and loss of income would be “significant”.

Salmond warned a “day of reckoning” was coming for the Scottish government as he named former first minister – and political protegee – Nicola Sturgeon and ex-permanent secretary Leslie Evans in the case, accusing both of misfeasance.

At the time the case was launched, then-first minister Humza Yousaf said the government would defend itself “robustly”.

Sturgeon has repeatedly denied being part of a plot against Salmond, or that there was evidence of one existing at all.

An initial hearing into the “misfeasance” action was heard at the Court of Session in November to lay the groundwork for a future case, which is yet to begin.

The case has been postponed several times since November while separate investigations take place – including complaints Salmond has made about events around the original case, about leaks to the media and claims of perjury.

Davis, a former Conservative minister, said he had been due to meet Salmond for dinner on Sunday where they would have discussed his complaints.

He said he wanted to see Holyrood given powers of privilege to allow it to investigate without fear of prosecution as he seeks “proper answers to what exactly happened in the treatment of Alex Salmond”.

Davis told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland that the legal issues had “put a huge pall over the last several years of this great man’s life and, who knows, it might even have accelerated his death”.

He added: “I want to see this exposed, opened up, so that the Scottish government is forced to answer the questions it ought to answer on this matter.”

The government has been asked to comment.