Starmer Accused Of Gambling With Young Lives Over Social Media Ban

The father of a teenager who took her own life after viewing harmful content online has accused Keir Starmer of “gambling with young people’s lives” over his plans for a social media ban for under-16s.

Ian Russell accused the prime minister of “playing politics” by rushing the announcement amid speculation about his future.

Starmer is expected to announce on Monday that the government plans to ban young people from using some social media platforms.

But Russell, whose daughter Molly died in 2017 aged 14, said the PM’s behaviour was “deplorable”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, he said: “In opposition, Keir Starmer promised to tighten up the online safety world by regulating better.

“Early last year, father to father, I met with him briefly and he was very concerned – and he promised me he would look into effective solutions to deal with this problem.

“But as we sit here on the verge of this announcement, it seems that he’s not kept either of those promises.”

He said the prime minister had “promised a group of bereaved parents” an announcement could be expected by the summer recess, which falls in mid-July, “so he’s rushed that forward for some reason”.

“I can’t think of a reason other than a political reason… if he’s playing politics, what he’s doing is gambling with young people’s lives – and I find that deplorable,” he said.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the same programme she “respectfully disagreed” with what Ian Russell had said.

She said: “There is an urgency to this because young people need help now and we cannot stand aside and not act when we see that very clearly.

“The tech companies have had more than enough time to get their own house in order and to be able to create products to keep children safe online. If they’re not prepared to do it, they lose the right to market their products towards children, and I don’t think the government should be neutral about that.”

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