Mum who lost son, 14, says Starmer 'ignored' online safety talks request
Summary
A mother from Gloucestershire who has campaigned for better online safety after her 14-year-old son’s death claimed her requests for Sir Keir Starmer to meet her and other bereaved parents have been “ignored”.
Details
Speaking to the Press Association at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, Ellen Roome, from Cheltenham , said she and 27 other bereaved parents have tried to arrange a meeting with Sir Keir but “the PM won’t meet us”. Ms Roome, who believes her son Jools Sweeney died while attempting an online challenge, was made an MBE by the Prince of Wales for services to children’s online safety.
The 49-year-old has campaigned for a change in UK law to give bereaved parents access to their children’s social media accounts after their death. She believes her son’s social media accounts may confirm her suspicions that it was an online challenge that went wrong and led to his death, but she has been unable to access them. Ms Roome said: “I’ve got a meeting with Wes Streeting on June 2 but the PM won’t meet us.
“We handed in a letter to Downing Street and then the following day he had a meeting with all the tech companies and you think ‘why does he not want to hear our lived experience?’ “I don’t have any other children to save or make a difference for but I want to share our stories to make a difference to the children that are still here.” She claimed the tech companies “left walking, laughing, out of Downing Street, which actually was really hurtful”.
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“All of us have lost children and to see them sort of laughing, walking down Downing Street when the PM won’t give us a meeting,” she said. She added she had sent a letter to the Government in March and got a reply from Liz Kendall, Technology Secretary, but said her request for a meeting was “ignored”.
When asked if the Prime Minister has replied to her, she said: “No.” In a direct message to Sir Keir, she told PA: “Come on PM, give us a meeting.
We don’t have big lobbying budgets to be able to do the same as tech companies but we do want to be heard, we’ve got powerful stories.” Ms Roome said William told her during the ceremony on Wednesday “it’s important, we’ve got so many children seeing harmful things online”.
She added that more needs to be done to combat “harmful algorithms, what children are being fed through the algorithms, the dangers from contacting strangers online”. Ms Roome said she has also been campaigning to ban social media for under 16s alongside Lord Nash, a member of the House of Lords who proposed the restriction. “He (Lord Nash) sent me a lovely message this morning to say congratulations,” she added.