Oral Answers to Questions

Edward Morello Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kanishka Narayan]

I thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to Debbie, the mother of Jay Slater, who has had to deal not just with the tragedy of her son’s death, but with all the subsequent harassment that she, family and friends have experienced. After I met my hon. Friend and Debbie, I raised the issue with the platforms. I know that the Secretary of State will meet bereaved families in the new year as well. I am keen to continue our engagement to make sure that we support victims and work hard to ensure that no other bereaved families face what Debbie and Jay’s family have had to face.

[Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)]

Online harm and harassment amplifies real-world violence. In West Dorset, 14-year-old Isabella was brutally attacked, but the lasting trauma came from the assault being deliberately filmed and circulated online and in group chats in schools across the local area. It was designed deliberately to humiliate her and led to her being further harassed online and in person. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that online safety measures properly address the sharing of real-world violent content that retraumatises victims and leads to further harassment?

[Kanishka Narayan]

I thank the hon. Member for raising a very important point. The Online Safety Act 2023 already focuses on areas of illegal content, in particular to keep young people safe under the child safety duties. If there are particular instances that the hon. Member wishes to write to me about, I will be happy to raise them. Notwithstanding the fact that Ofcom continues to be the regulator, we are keeping the pressure on both Ofcom and platforms to act robustly.