The mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey today called for smartphones to be banned in all schools in England.
Esther Ghey said she supported a ‘blanket ban’ on phones in schools across the country amid concerns about how devices can be misused by students.
Her 16-year-old daughter was murdered by classmate Scarlett Jenkinson and her friend Eddie Ratcliffe in a premeditated attack in Cheshire in 2023.
Brianna, who had thousands of followers on TikTok, struggled with her mental health, which was worsened by accessing eating-disorder and self-harm content on X.
From the age of 14, Jenkinson enjoyed watching videos of real killing and torture on the dark web, fantasised about murder and developed an interest in serial killers.
As well as calling for stronger measures to protect children in schools, Ms Ghey also said she was ‘frustrated’ by the Government’s approach to online safety.
It follows claims that landmark legislation could be watered down as part of Labour’s bid to secure a trade deal with US President Donald Trump.
According to a recent report, a draft US-UK agreement contains commitments to review enforcement of the Online Safety Act – which was passed by the previous Tory government in 2023 – as well as other tech-focused legislation.
Allies of Mr Trump have repeatedly expressed concerns about free speech in Britain and the monitoring of social media content.
Ms Ghey told the BBC: ‘While we are… questioning whether it’s strong enough or whether it should be watered down, young people are at harm, and young people are losing their lives.
‘Young people shouldn’t be struggling with mental health because of what they are accessing online, and we really do need to take a hard stance on this.’
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, lured Brianna to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington where she was fatally stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in February 2023.
Jenkinson was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in December 2023 to a minimum sentence of 22 years in prison, and Ratcliffe to a minimum term of 20 years.
Ms Ghey has campaigned for an age limit on smartphone use, stricter controls on access to social media apps, tougher action on knife crime and for mindfulness to be taught in schools.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, she expressed her support for a ‘blanket ban’ on smartphones in schools.
‘We need to support teachers in a blanket ban across England,’ she said.
‘If a school has banned phones in one area and in the same area another school hasn’t – it becomes an issue with parents. It needs to be done across the board to make it easier.’
A senior Labour minister told the same programme that ‘basic protections’ in the Online Safety Act ‘are not up for negotiation’.
Asked whether the legislation was up for discussion with Washington DC, Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: ‘The protections in the Online Safety Act are not negotiable.
‘Because it’s the principle that if it’s illegal offline, it should be illegal online. Clearly, that is not negotiable, it’s illegal.’
He added: ‘Where there is harmful content online, especially where it’s targeted at children, these social platforms need to be designed in a way to protect children from that harm.
‘We won’t be walking away from that.’
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The Online Safety Act is about protecting children online from harmful content like self-harm and eating disorders as well as making sure what is illegal offline is illegal online.
‘These laws are not part of the negotiation and our priority is getting them in place quickly and effectively, while exploring what more can be done to build a safer online world.’