Keir Starmer is under pressure to crack down on online harms with fears children are continuing to face a wild west on social media on their phones and computers

Two-thirds of people support a social media ban for under 16s, a poll for The Mirror shows.

Keir Starmer is under pressure to crack down on online harms with fears children are continuing to face a wild west on their phones and computers. Some 66% of adults support banning under 16s from using social media, the Deltapoll finds, up from 64% when The Mirror ran a similar poll in December.

Women are slightly more likely to back a ban with 68% in support, compared to 63% of men. Some 67% of people who voted Labour in 2024 support a ban, while 77% of Tories do. And 58% of people who voted Reform UK in 2024 back a ban – despite Nigel Farage being in favour of going the opposite direction and scrapping online safety laws for kids.

READ MORE: Bereaved mum issues social media ban for kids plea ahead of fresh Lords clash

The Government has said it does not want to rush into an outright social media ban, with some campaigners warning it could be a flawed solution to the online crisis. Ministers have instead launched a consultation on a range of online safety features, including an outright ban for under 16s, overnight curfews or app caps.

It will also look at strengthening age verification measures by restricting kids’ access to VPNs, which allow youngsters to circumvent the rules. More than 60,000 people have responded to the consultation so far, which will conclude in the summer.

Some bereaved parents and campaigners warn there is no time or need for more evidence-gathering when the harms are already known. But others warn an outright ban could push young people into darker spaces online.

Pressure on the Government to take action has mounted after Australia’s ban for under 16s came into force in December. Other European countries including Spain and Greece have indicated similar plans. Amid pressure from the House of Lords to ban social media for under 16s, Education Minister Olivia Bailey last week pledged “some form of age or functionality restrictions”.

Early research from Australia’s ban shows children are circumventing the rules with three in five (61%) 12 to 15 year-olds still accessing one or more accounts on restricted platforms in the country. And studies in the UK show kids are getting around age checks by using fake birthdays, shared accounts, altered photos and even drawing on false moustaches.

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Ofcom ordered social media firms to enforce robust age checks – such as credit card checks or facial recognition technology – as part of the implementation of the Online Safety Act last summer. Most social media platforms allow children aged 13 and above to create an account.

Bereaved mum Ellen Roome, whose son Julian “Jools” Sweeney took his own life in 2022, said the Mirror’s poll results showed the public wants “strong and decisive action” from the government. Ms Roome, who is suing TikTok with other bereaved families, believes her 14-year-old son’s death may be connected to an online challenge.

She told The Mirror: “As a mother who lost my 14-year-old son Jools, I have seen first-hand the devastating consequences of an online world that is not designed with children’s safety at its core. Children are currently allowed access to highly addictive platforms and harmful content without the safeguards we would expect in any other area of life.

“This is why I support raising the age for access to harmful social media platforms to 16. It is not about punishing children or stopping them socialising. It is about giving them time to develop safely and protecting them during some of the most vulnerable years of their lives. Parents across the UK want the Government to get on with raising the age of harmful social media to 16, and they want that action now.”

But Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, a charity named after schoolgirl Molly Russell who took her own life aged 14, warned a ban could offer a “false sense of security”. He told The Mirror: “Parents have been let down time and again by tech companies that put profit before safety and successive Government’s failure to prioritise protecting children online.

“It’s no surprise that parents rightly want action but we must go further than a blanket ban that will offer them a false sense of safety. Instead decisive new laws must force tech companies to fix their products and make child safety and wellbeing the price for doing business in the UK.”

A Government spokesman said: “We’ve been clear that we will take action to make sure children have a healthy relationship with social media. This isn’t a question of whether, but how we will act. Our consultation is looking at everything from age limits and safer design features to a social media ban, as well as pilots with hundreds of UK families, to ensure we take the best approach, based on the latest evidence.

“We know parents and children want us to act fast, and through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act we have taken new legal powers to do exactly that – so we can move quickly once the consultation concludes.”

::: Deltapoll surveyed 3,353 adults in Great Britain between April 26 and May 1 for The Mirror.

A meeting between officials from the West Dunbartonshire HSCP and the council will take place amid protest from care staff outside this afternoon – with their union accusing HSCP chiefs of ignoring calls for a pause.

The union representing home carers in West Dunbartonshire have accused health chiefs of railroading plans for a controversial re-organisation of the service through ahead of another crunch meeting this afternoon.

The changes to social care have caused anger among some carers due to alterations to rotas which have been branded as “unworkable”.Councillors at the local authority recently voted narrowly in favour of recommending a pause for more talks between unions and the West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP),

But those calls have fallen on deaf ears, as fears about potential ‘fire and re-hire’ practices being introduced “by stealth” are also raised by union officials.

Workers held a rally on Thursday afternoon outside the West Dunbartonshire Council offices in Dumbarton ahead of the meeting between council supremos and HSCP managers.

AnnMarie Carrigan, GMB organiser at West Dunbartonshire Council, said: “The council’s vote was decisive and councillors clearly wanted this disruptive redesign paused to allow constructive discussions.

“Instead, the HSCP continues to steamroller through changes which will have a devastating impact on the lives of committed workers.

“Are councillors content that their clearly stated wishes are being ignored by unelected and apparently unaccountable officials?

“The refusal of the HSCP to pause and seriously engage with their staff in defiance of councillors’ wishes is abject and risks legal repercussions for the local authority.”

A poll of workers on the home care service carried out by the union evealed nearly nine out of ten (85 per cent) say their mental health has suffered because of the anxiety and stress caused by new working patterns.

It added that 72 per cent said the changes have cost them money because they have been forced to reduce their hours, with eight out of ten (80 per cent) believing the redesign has impacted their lives away from work.

In response, a spokeswoman for West Dunbartonshire HSCP hit back at “misleading and inaccurate information” over the home care re-design.

The spokeswoman added: “The majority of employees have confirmed the new hours and shifts are more suitable for clients’ needs, and we continue to work with the very small number of employees to reach a mutually acceptable solution for their particular situation.

“We have been liaising with employees and Trade Union Representatives for more than three years and continue to do so while we embed changes to ensure our high standard of care at home continues.”

Asked afterwards to offer his assessment for the final at Budapest’s Puskas Arena on May 30, Kane said that PSG were slight favourites but did not rule out a first Champions League triumph for old rivals Arsenal, who have reached the biggest game in European club football for only the second time after losing the 2005/06 showpiece to Barcelona in Paris.

Linus Pauling was one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century. He won two Nobel prizes and transformed our understanding of chemical bonds and the structure of proteins. Late in his career, though, he became famous for something very different: a passionate belief that very high doses of vitamin C could help people with cancer. Many doctors scoffed. When Pauling himself later died of cancer aged 93, he was held up as a classic case of the “halo effect”: being a genius in one field doesn’t guarantee wisdom in another.

Half a century on, the story looks more complicated. Pauling was wrong in important ways, but he was not entirely wrong. Modern research is giving vitamin C a second look in cancer, and it turns out that under certain conditions it can behave less like a gentle vitamin and more like a drug.

Pauling’s vitamin C story began in the 1970s, when he teamed up with the Scottish doctor Ewan Cameron and gave patients with advanced, incurable cancer very large amounts of vitamin C – first as a drip into a vein, then as tablets. Compared with similar patients who did not get vitamin C, they reported that the vitamin‑treated group lived longer and felt better. For some, they suggested, survival could be several times longer.

Two large trials, run by the Mayo Clinic, a leading non-profit medical centre in the US, then put this to the test. The results were clear: there was no benefit.

Patients who took vitamin C pills lived no longer than those who didn’t. For most oncologists, that was the end of the matter. Vitamin C was filed away with other “alternative” remedies, and Pauling’s late-career crusade was widely seen as a sad mistake.

What neither trial’s critics nor defenders noticed at the time: Pauling and Cameron had started with vitamin C into a vein; the Mayo Clinic trials used tablets only. That matters because the gut can only absorb so much vitamin C. Once you reach a modest daily dose, the body simply stops taking in much more. Swallow as many tablets as you like, and the level of vitamin C in your blood levels off.

By contrast, a drip into a vein can raise blood levels to tens or even hundreds of times higher than tablets ever could. At those extreme levels, vitamin C starts to behave differently inside the body.

At everyday levels, vitamin C acts as an antioxidant: it mops up harmful molecules and protects our cells. At very high levels, especially around tumours, it can flip roles.

In laboratory studies, high-dose vitamin C helps generate hydrogen peroxide, a reactive substance that can damage cells. Cancer cells seem especially vulnerable because they are already under stress. They grow rapidly, often in areas with poor blood supply, and produce lots of reactive molecules of their own. Their internal “cleanup” systems are stretched thin.

Add a sudden pulse of hydrogen peroxide and many cancer cells tip over the edge: their DNA and energy machinery are damaged and they die. Normal cells, which are under less strain and have better defences, are more likely to survive. In this way, very high doses of vitamin C behave less like a daily supplement and more like a weak, selective chemotherapy drug. Crucially, the doses needed for this effect cannot be reached with tablets.

What the latest evidence shows

In people, the evidence is still early and mixed. Small trials have given high-dose vitamin C through a vein to patients with hard-to-treat cancers such as ovarian, pancreatic or brain tumours. So far, many patients can receive large doses several times a week without serious side-effects. Problems can occur, especially in people with poor kidney function or rare inherited conditions, which is why this is not a harmless wellness drip to be sold on the high street.

A few studies suggest that adding vitamin C infusions to chemotherapy may help some patients live a little longer or help with side-effects, but other studies show no clear benefit. The trials are small and varied, so we cannot draw firm conclusions.

One consistent signal is quality of life: patients given vitamin C alongside chemotherapy often report less fatigue, less pain and fewer side-effects, such as nausea. For someone with advanced cancer, that matters, even if it is not the sweeping cure Pauling once promised.

Lab work also hints at subtler roles. Vitamin C is involved in enzymes that influence how our DNA is “marked” and read, and in how cells divide and respond to low oxygen – important in cancer behaviour.

In some experiments, high vitamin C levels make cancer cells grow less aggressively and make them more sensitive to treatment. There are even early suggestions that vitamin C may help the immune system recognise and attack tumours, though this remains speculative.

Partly right

So, was Pauling right after all? The fairest answer is that he was partly right, for reasons he did not fully understand, and he exaggerated the promise. He was wrong to promote vitamin C tablets as a powerful cure for cancer. Large, careful trials have not found that swallowing high-dose vitamin C helps people with established cancer live longer. He was also wrong to present vitamin C as a near-universal remedy for many illnesses.

But he was not entirely wrong to suspect that vitamin C might have a special role in cancer treatment. He sensed, long before we could prove it, that very high doses given into a vein would behave quite differently from ordinary supplements.

Modern research has confirmed that intravenous vitamin C reaches much higher levels in the blood and has distinct biological effects. What we do not yet have are large, definitive randomised trials showing that high-dose intravenous vitamin C clearly prolongs life for most cancer patients. Until we do, it should be seen as experimental – promising enough to study, but not proven enough to replace standard therapies. Any use belongs in clinical trials or in carefully supervised medical settings, not in clinics selling expensive “immune boosts”.

The “vitamins in cancer” story continues to evolve. If the story of vitamin C and cancer teaches us anything, it is that science rarely moves in straight lines. A bold idea, some flawed early studies, a fierce backlash – and then, years later, a quieter, more careful return to the question.

Pauling may never be fully vindicated, but neither was he simply deluded. In his enthusiasm, he may have glimpsed a sliver of truth long before the rest of us knew how to look for it.

Arthur’s symptoms were diagnosed as a virus, asthma or anxiety

A mum says a doctor dismissed her 10-year-old son’s sudden weight loss and struggle breathing as ‘anxiety’ – only for it to turn out to be cancer. Penny Saltmarsh took her ‘healthy and football mad’ son Arthur to see a doctor in January 2025 when he became breathless, but was told he just had a viral infection that would clear up.

When Arthur’s symptoms worsened as he began losing weight and ‘gasping for air’ during the school run, a week later, the 41-year-old took her child for an appointment twice more. When a doctor saw that Arthur struggled to make eye contact, Penny claims his sudden weight loss was diagnosed as ‘anxiety’, and she was told he was just an ‘anxious child’, with the doctor opting not to do an X-ray.

Days later the mum-of-six and her husband ‘panicked’ when they noticed one side of Arthur’s chest was four times bigger than the other so rushed him to hospital. In hospital an ultrasound revealed Arthur had a large build-up of fluid around his lungs causing them to collapse and his heart was under strain due to a mass on his thymus, a small gland in the chest.

Penny says it was a ‘nightmare’ to discover her child had T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in February 2025, which is a rare and fast-growing type of blood cancer. Arthur received four rounds of intensive chemotherapy between February and October 2025 and the mass in his chest has now gone but he will continue receiving treatment until June 2028.

A family member has set up a GoFundMe account to help support Arthur’s family, whose lives have completely changed since the diagnosis. The full-time carer says she is ‘grateful’ she trusted her gut as she claims a doctor said her son was just 48 hours away from death.

Now she urges other parents to ‘advocate’ for their child if they suspect something is wrong. Penny, who is from Cambridgeshire, said: “It happened in two or three weeks that he went from being healthy and fit to being two days away from dying.

“He started off with just becoming really breathless so even walking up the stairs he would stop halfway and just be struggling to catch his breath. That concerned us a little bit because prior to that he was the most fit, active, healthy football mad boy.

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“At this point I wasn’t too concerned but I took him to the GP. She said she thought it was viral and that ‘he’ll get better in about a week’.

“A week later he was getting worse and he’d also lost weight as well. He’s not one to enjoy going to bed but it got to 5.30pm and he’d be taking himself to bed and that definitely rang alarm bells because he’s never been like that ever.

“We took him back to the GP and I said ‘if it was viral he’d be getting better but we’ve noticed he’s losing weight, he’s out of breath so much and walking to school he’d have to stop gasping for air’. She said it could be asthma and sent us home with a peak flow kit and a diary. We did it for about a day but he couldn’t even blow the peak flow.

“They invited us on Saturday to a respiratory clinic to do an asthma check. The reading came back that it was very unlikely to be asthma. We took him home and a few days went past and we started to really worry at this point but I never in a million years thought about cancer.

“It’s just something you think happens to other people. You don’t ever think it’s going to be your child. We took him back to the GP and she said it was anxiety because he was not able to keep eye contact. Arthur can be a bit of an anxious child and has inattentive ADHD and autism. He’s really popular at school and is really good at fitting in but he doesn’t like to stand out from anybody.

“I also asked if we could do an X-ray or something because I felt like there was something going on with his chest. She said ‘no, I don’t want to send him for any X-rays because I don’t want to expose a child to any unnecessary radiation’.

“Me being trusting I just thought ‘okay, we’ve seen the GP quite a few times, we’ll just take him home and see how we get on’. [On] Sunday morning he came into our bedroom and you could see the level of effort he was having to do just to breathe.

“We started to panic at this point and his dad said ‘we’re taking him to hospital’ and he turned around and one side of his chest was four times the size of the other.”

In hospital an ultrasound revealed that over three litres of fluid had built up around Arthur’s lungs and an urgent CT scan showed the pressure had pushed his heart to the other side of his body. Doctors said it was too risky to put him under general anaesthetic so they were forced to sedate him to drain some of the fluid.

Penny said: “I honestly thought I was in a dream. I thought ‘this isn’t real life’, it was like a nightmare. It was really, really hard.

“In the beginning I was cross. He’s always been quite stoic so puts on the brave ‘I’m fine’. How do you tell your child they have cancer?”

Following four rounds of successful chemotherapy Arthur must now receive maintenance chemotherapy until June 2028 and Penny had to quit being a student midwife to care for her son. Penny said: “He’s been through a lot and is so tough. The lasting mental impact that it’s had is what we’re struggling with now.

“He’s missed a year of school and he just wants to be like everybody else at his school. Just getting him back to being Arthur before all of this has been a real challenge.”

She added: “If you feel in your gut that you’re not happy or if you have alarm bells going off in your head you push. That’s your child and you’re there to advocate for them.”

You can donate to Penny Saltmarsh’s fundraiser here https://www.gofundme.com/f/pkcjm-support-arthur-through-his-cancer-journey

The Only Way Is Essex cast member was found dead at a holiday villa in Majorca with head injuries, as reported by The Sun.

He appeared on the show in 2015, and he ran his menswear brand, By Jake Hall.

According to the newspaper, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Hall has a daughter, River, eight, with Real Housewives of Cheshire star Misse Beqiri.

Celebrity DJ Fat Tony paid tribute to him on Instagram, writing: “Devastating news we Love you @jakehall such an awful loss to the world you beautiful man x.”

Roxie Nafousi commented on Jake’s instagram post: “Jake 🙁 you were such a sweet soul, I always loved our catch ups.

“I know things weren’t always easy for you but you never gave up and you really loved your little girl more than anything in the world.

“This is so devastating.

“Keep dancing up in heaven. Rest in peace”

Hall’s most recent Instagram post showed him painting in Majorca.

Along with the photo, he said: “Life is b******s sometimes but I’m gonna try remember the good things.

“Looking through things – I’m just making art – in many forms.”

Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show Thursday morning after abruptly leaving Wednesday’s broadcast without explanation.

Guthrie left 90 minutes into the morning show’s May 6 broadcast, with her co-anchor Craig Melvin telling viewers: “Savannah had to leave a little early. She’ll be right back tomorrow, though.”

Guthrie was indeed back Thursday morning alongside Willie Geist and did not explain the reason for her sudden departure the day before.

The Independent has contacted NBC and Guthrie’s representatives for comments.

It comes as Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother has been missing for three months after a suspected abduction from her home near Tucson, Arizona.

Savannah, 54, returned to Today in April following a two-month hiatus, during which she spent time with her family and sent pleas to the public for any information regarding her mother’s disappearance.

In February, the FBI released pictures of a masked and armed person outside of Nancy’s home the night she went missing. No suspect has been identified.

Guthrie sat down for her first interview since her mother’s disappearance with Hoda Kotb in a segment that aired last month.

“I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that lady has money and we can make a quick buck.’ I mean, that would make sense,” she said in the emotional footage. “But we don’t know … which is too much to bear, to think that I brought this to her bedside.”

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Stacey Balfour was jailed for 16 years following the murder of Robert Fisher at a tower block in Paisley in July 2023.

The mum of a man who was stabbed to death in a Paisley flat has pleaded that her son’s killer is not released early before the “monster” appears in front of appeal judges today.

Cameron Woods and Stacey Balfour, then 27 and 24, were sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on June 24 last year following the slaying of Robert Fisher. The 26-year-old was brutally killed at a block of flats in Maxwellton Street in July 2023.

The pair had denied murder at trial but were eventually convicted. Woods was jailed for a minimum 18-and-a-half years with Balfour locked up for 16 years.

However, Balfour has now launched an appeal against her sentence and is due to appear in front of appeal judges in Edinburgh today. Robert’s mum, Pamela Peacock, has publicly slammed Woods’ vile former girlfriend and pleaded with lawmakers not to “let this monster out early”.

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Posting on social media, she said: “People need to know what she is doing to us as a family. The cheek of her.

“Please believe me, she was just as much involved in Robert’s murder as Cameron Woods was.

“I sat everyday throughout the trial and this is a monster! I had to hear what happened to my son Robert and I can honestly say that he certainly did not deserve to die the way he did.

“Hopefully the judges see right through this monster, because that’s what her and her boyfriend are, monsters. The way they left my son has scarred me for the rest of my life.

“Please can everyone think about Robert on this day and please let justice be done and this monster does not walk free.”

During the trial, the court heard how it was Woods who knifed Robert with his then partner Balfour “acting in concert” knowing there would be violence. The killing took place after all three had been with others at a flat at the tower block.

A witness stated they had seen Woods wielding a large kitchen knife at one stage. Balfour was meantime seen showing someone the small lockback blade later used in the killing which had been attached to a set of keys.

It was heard that the atmosphere between those at the flat, including Robert, became volatile. This eventually led to the young dad being stabbed “in what amounted to a murderous attack”.

Robert managed to stagger out of the flat covered in blood after suffering five separate stab wounds as well as possible defensive injuries. The victim was hard groaning, “I have been stabbed”, as 999 was dialled.

He died four days later in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. The murder weapon, which had Robert’s blood on it, was later found with Woods when he was stopped by police at a cycle track.

Balfour had initially told officers that the last time she had seen Mr Fisher was when he left the flat with another man. Her KC Thomas Ross said she had previously suffered a “traumatic” incident in 2014 and a had been in a “toxic relationship” before the murder.

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She was seen ditching the UK with her eldest sons after being invited on a mega trip with a number of other famous faces

Stacey Solomon has told fans it ‘doesn’t feel real’ as she was seen ditching the UK with her eldest sons after being invited on a mega trip with a number of other famous faces.

As those who have followed the Loose Women star’s life and career, she shares three children with her husband Joe Swash – Rex, Rose and Belle – as well as being a proud mum to teenagers Zachary and Leighton from previous relationships.

Earlier this week, Stacey was seen sharing more family updates as she marked her second-oldest child’s 14th birthday. Alongside a picture of the birthday boy posing alongside a cake and his birthday gifts, she wrote on her Instagram Story: “He doesn’t like a big fuss, and he hates pictures, so this is a rare one he likes and it’s Arsenal and a takeaway for our 14-year-old incredible little man.

“We love you to the moon and back Leighton! You are literally sunshine. We are never not laughing when you’re around. Happy Birthday Leight [heart emoji].” She then shared a video of the celebrations taking place and said: “BEST BIRTHDAY EVER. Leighton is so happy and so is the whole family tbh [crying face emoji]. Well done Arsenal [heart emoji].”

It was then on Wednesday (May 6) that the Sort Your Life Out host confirmed that she, Zachary and Leighton were headed for Miami after she was invited to join a huge brand trip put together by Space NK and also being attended by the likes of Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Olivia Attwood and influencer Perrie Sian.

Alongside a picture of herself and her sons at the airport, Stacey told her millions of followers: “The next few days are going to be magic. I was invited on the most incredible trip thanks to Jinny & the @spacenk team. I’m so lucky to have been asked & im so grateful.

“It genuinely doesn’t feel real! Ill never take this for granted it’s just not real! I decided to book Zach & Leighton to come out with me because, with the little pickles, we don’t get to hang out just us a lot, & I miss them. So I’m so excited to spend some special time with my big boys & some amazing people in MIAMI! I mean WHAT IN THE WORLD.”

She added: “Here we go boys [crying face emoji]. I’ll bring you all with me. Thank you all for supporting me which is the only reason I even get asked on these type of incredible things. I’m so grateful for you guys [face holding back tears and heart emojis].”

Karolina Kubrak: “The food is delicious, and the place has a unique atmosphere. This is Polish cuisine at its finest, accompanied by the renowned Polish hospitality that characterises this place. I highly recommend it to everyone.”

Malgorzata Malaga: “If you’re looking for truly exceptional Polish food, this is the place. My boyfriend still can’t get over the fact that the best pierogi with karkówka he’s ever had were not in Poland, but right here in London, at Ognisko.”

Mat Remx: “Like being at home.”