Bereaved dad and mom accuse Sir Keir Starmer of missing braveness over social media ban for youngsters | EUROtoday

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused by bereaved dad and mom of missing the braveness to guard younger folks after he ducked a vote on banning social media for under-16s.

The condemnation got here in a scathing letter written to the prime minister from 22 dad and mom of 16 youngsters who took their very own lives.

The correspondence comes lower than 24 hours after the federal government defeated an try within the Commons to herald a social media ban for under-16s.

While the federal government has promised motion, it has claimed {that a} full ban, following the instance of Australia, wouldn’t be the proper factor to do.

But in a letter to Sir Keir, the dad and mom begged him to make sure that no different mother or father or member of the family finds themselves in the same place.

They mentioned: “We have heard a great deal from your government in recent months about decisive leadership – promises to go faster and further than any administration before you. We noticed that these statements came amid mounting pressure from within your own party to raise the age limit for social media. We hoped that was coincidence.”

But they added: “It is becoming increasingly clear that it was not. For all your talk of leadership, you remain firmly on the fence when it comes to protecting children and preventing more avoidable deaths online.

“Nothing makes this clearer than your decision last night to personally absent yourself from the vote in the House of Commons on raising the social media age limit to 16, as did 107 of your MPs.”

They warned that regulating social media corporations and holding our youngsters protected “is one of the defining challenges of our time”.

But they warned: “Yet your government cannot be any clearer that you prefer to avoid taking a position. We would go further: it has become clear that raising the age limit for harmful social media to 16 is far from your preferred option.

“Why, prime minister, when we devote our own time and energy to this cause at considerable personal cost, can you not spare a few minutes to vote in your own place of work and make your position known? Is it too much to ask that you share your view and back your convictions?”

They warned that the House of Lords may have one other alternative to vote for a legally binding dedication to boost the age restrict.

“We will do everything we can to work with peers to ensure that happens – and that the matter returns to the Commons,” they added.

“We hope, prime minister, that you will find the courage to give an answer then.”

The ban has been backed by Tory chief Kemi Badenoch however resisted by Sir Keir’s authorities.

Education minister Olivia Bailey cited issues from youngsters’s charities that an outright ban on under-16s utilizing social media may drive them in direction of “less regulated corners of the internet”, or depart them “unprepared” for tips on how to navigate the net world.

She mentioned the federal government’s session would “seek views to help shape our next steps” – which may in the end nonetheless embrace banning youngsters from platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

The Independent has approached Downing Street for remark.