LET’S END THE WORRY FOR THOSE WE LOVE

THE murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa filled me – like so many others – with outrage and disgust. As the father of four daughters and a son, all young adults making their way in the world just as Sarah and Sabina were, these abhorrent crimes appalled and touched me deeply.

It is devastating to think two young women, so vibrant, so loved and with so much to give, had their lives snatched so brutally from them. My heart goes out to their families.

Terrible as they were, such murders are, thankfully, extremely rare, but the fear they create is commonplace. Every day, up and down the country, the simple act of walking alone is making people feel anxious and at risk.

Male violence is causing so many people, especially women, to live in fear. And their parents, partners and friends worry too, more now than ever. We shouldn’t have to, but we do: this pervasive threat is all too real.

There is a growing anger and desperation to take action. As CEO of BT, I am in a position to do something practical. I have been thinking about how we can use technology to tackle the problem.

So, together with my BT colleagues, I have come up with something that I believe can help.

This week I wrote to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, outlining an idea that we are developing.

BT already handles 999 emergency calls, and we are currently building the next-generation 999 network.

We are proposing to build into it a new emergency service that would complement 999. This new service is provisionally called 888 or ‘walk me home’, but it could also be used on taxi rides, public transport or any journey. A simple device or app on your phone, using similar GPS technology to Uber and Google Maps, would allow the user to opt in to a remote tracking mechanism.

When activated it would automatically trigger an alert if they didn’t reach their destination within the expected time. The user’s named emergency contacts – usually family and friends – could then raise the alarm with the police if they could not establish the user’s whereabouts and safety.

No one would be missing for hours, their whereabouts unknown. It would also allow a user to send an instant alert to the police, with just one touch.

My colleagues at BT are now working on the technology and practicalities. The 888 service would be developed in collaboration with the police and the whole telecoms industry, and could even link in with CCTV networks. It needs to be funded – it will only work effectively if it is free of charge on every mobile phone network. But the costs will be low as the technology already exists. Like the 999 service, it will cover every part of the country.

It will, of course, require thorough user-testing and feedback. We need to ensure that it will not trigger unnecessary police call-outs with false alerts.

ONE possible objection is that it’s ‘Big Brother’ surveillance. But that simply doesn’t stand up – people opt in. The very existence of the 888 service should also act as a deterrent to criminals, knowing that the alarm will automatically be raised if their victim doesn’t reach their destination on time, that friends and family will start ringing around and alert the police.

Anxious parents often use ‘find my phone’ to keep track of their children’s movements if they are out at night. But youngsters don’t want their parents tracking them, and many turn it off.

The 888 service would mean that parents can relax a bit, knowing that if there is a problem, they will be alerted.

There needs to be proper discussion and debate about the technicalities, but I am confident that we can make it work. I am not a politician, I can’t change society, but if I can use innovative technology to improve personal safety, then I am determined to do so.

I hope that the Government supports this idea and that 888 goes on to make a real difference.