Bereaved families write letter to Rishi Sunak accusing PM of ‘betrayal’ for breaking online safety promises

Eight families, whose children’s deaths were linked to social media and gaming, have written to Rishi Sunak accusing him of “betrayal” for watering down online safety laws.

The parents, who make up the Bereaved Families for Online Safety, includes Ian Russell, father of Molly, 14, who killed herself after being bombarded with suicide content through social media algorithms, and Hollie Dance, mum of Archie Battersbee, 12. They campaigned for the Online Safety Act (OSA) to introduce a way for parents and coroners to access data from tech companies, where it could have been relevant in a child’s death.

This followed the landmark ruling in Molly Russell’s inquest, where the coroner ruled that she did not die from suicide but from "an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content".

However, the families say government changes to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, places limits on this new power to only apply in cases where a child has taken their own life. They claim this contrary to personal promises made to them and parliamentarians throughout passage of the OSA.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, sent this morning and shared with NationalWorld, they say “we strongly welcomed provisions which would give families and coroners a humane route to access the data of a deceased child where there is reasonable suspicion that the information is relevant to their death”.

The group writes: “We are devastated to find out, confirmed in a letter yesterday from the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan MP, that despite personal promises made to us in private meetings and assurances made at the despatch box to Baroness Kidron, that the government has - after the fact - placed limits on the agreed route. This is a betrayal.   

“Our children died in different ways and in different circumstances relating to the digital world. The tragedy for each of us remains and we all share the need to understand more about their deaths, however they died. We find the changes the Government has made callous.”

The groups says that in their experience “coroners and police have persistently failed to get hold of the necessary data from tech companies for their investigations”. They added: “We received a commitment from your ministers at the despatch box. There can be no reversal.”

Baroness Beeban Kidron, founder of the 5Rights Foundation which has been working with the families, added: “I simply cannot understand why they [the government] are pitting themselves against the parents of murdered children, and at the same time, undermining the judgement of the coroner. They have a moral duty to put this right and it is a sad day for parliament if promises made in September from the despatch box are undermined by December.” 

Responding to the letter, the PM’s spokeswoman told NationalWorld: “First and foremost the PM’s sympathies are with all the families affected by this. The Online Act Safety Act included provisions to address a specific issue in coroners not being able to access this information. 

“It remains the case that where there have been serious crimes such as a murder the police already have existing powers to make sure that they can receive this information for their investigation. Our understanding is that we have the right existing powers in place, and the Online Safety Act was to address the existing loophole. But we will continue to monitor this and make sure the existing processes are working as they should.” 

In a previous letter to the families, Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said she takes “the commitments we made during the passage of the Online Safety Act incredibly seriously and am committed to ensuring that there is a comprehensive set of powers and processes in place”.

Two of the bereaved families, who would be most affected by the change in law, told the BBC of their anguish. Lorin LaFave, whose son Breck Bednar, 14, was murdered in 2014 by a boy he met through online gaming, said: "We celebrated as campaigners in a big group. We felt so proud and pleased at the work that we had done, and made these changes that were so important for other families.

"So then to find out that that moment was all false or fake is quite hurtful. And we're angry. As a group, as individuals, we're angry. It's not right to backtrack."

Stuart Stephens’ son Olly, 13, was killed in a brutal attack planned on social media. He told the broadcaster: “You need to understand. You need to know what happened, no matter how traumatic or how brutal it is to hear. You need to hear about it because that was your child.

"You raise that child. You love that child. And you thought you'd done a good job. But somebody else through another medium was able to step in and take your child. So why don't we have the rights to access that data?"

A government spokesperson said: “We know how important this is for families going through the most tragic circumstances. The Online Safety Act ensures information about any child who has died can be collected from social media platforms for coroner investigations, this is not changing.

“To make sure this works effectively, the changes we are making through the Data Protection Bill will ensure social media platforms keep the data coroners need where a child has taken their life, no matter what the circumstance.

“This kind of data can already be retained and shared for police investigations where a serious crime like murder is committed, thanks to established police powers, but we continue to work with families to ensure we get this right." 

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

You can also contact:

• NSPCC
• Shout
• If you’re worried about an individual call 999

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.