Brianna’s death prompts call for social media ban
Esther Ghey’s olive branch moves minister to tears as she considers ban on social media sites for under-16s
LABOUR has said it is “open-minded” about a potential ban on under-16s using social media following the murder of Brianna Ghey, the shadow technology secretary has said.
Peter Kyle urged society to “get ahead of the curve” in protecting children after it emerged that Scarlett Jenkinson, one of Brianna’s killers, had watched murder and torture videos online.
Jenkinson and her accomplice Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, received life sentences on Friday for the murder of Brianna, a transgender schoolmate who was also 16. They stabbed her 28 times on Feb 11 last year.
The pair messaged one another about wanting to kill Brianna and other people that they knew, while Jenkinson used a special “dark web” browser, a matrix of encrypted sites, to watch extreme videos of real people being subjected to graphic violence.
Asked whether Labour would consider a ban on social media for under16s, Mr Kyle told the BBC’S Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I’m open-minded about how we go forward with this.
“I’m already in discussion with bereaved families who have lost children to the impact of social media, or that social media has had an aggravating factor in the loss of life and the harm that’s done to them.”
He also called on Ofcom, the regulator, to do more to combat the dark web, adding that If Labour came to power he would urge the regulator to “prioritise looking at certain issues”.
In her first interview since Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were sentenced, Esther Ghey, Brianna’s mother, told the same programme she was prepared to meet Jenkinson’s family and did not “carry any hate” for her daughter’s killers but was unable to forgive them.
THE mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has said she would meet the family of Scarlett Jenkinson, one of two school contemporaries convicted of killing her daughter.
Esther Ghey insisted she did not “carry any hate” for Jenkinson or Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, who received life sentences on Friday for killing the transgender teen on Feb 11 last year.
Manchester Crown Court heard their actions were motivated by sadism and transphobia after the pair ambushed Brianna in a park near Warrington and stabbed her 28 times.
Speaking for the first time since Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were sentenced, Ms Ghey said she had made a “conscious effort” not to look at either of them in the courtroom and she agreed with the whole-life tariffs they had been given.
Asked if she had seen Jenkinson’s mother at any point, she told the BBC’S Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I’ve seen her, but not… We haven’t come face to face.
“But when I think of their emotions and how they’re feeling it just brings back how I felt when all this happened in February. She looks completely broken, really, and rightly so, she’s going through an absolutely horrific time.”
When given the opportunity to express any message she had for Jenkinson’s mother, she said: “I think that I would like to say that if she did want to contact me, and she does want to speak, then I’m open to that.
“I’d like to understand more how their life was, and what they want through, and I also want her to know that I don’t blame her for what her child’s done. So yeah, if she ever wants to speak to me, I’m here.”
During the interview, Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, was seen wiping away tears from her eyes as she listened to Ms Ghey speak. Elsewhere in the interview, Brianna’s mother called for a law to be introduced mandating the use of mobile phones for under-16s that cannot access social media platforms.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had used online messaging platforms to discuss wanting to kill Brianna and other people that they knew, while Jenkinson also used a “dark web” internet browser app to watch videos of the toture and murder of real people in “red rooms”.
Pressed on whether her daughter might have been safe if the law was changed, Ms Ghey replied: “Yeah, without a doubt. I think that either, one, they wouldn’t have been searching [for] that in the first place, and, two, if they did search it then the parents would know and they’d be able to get them some kind of help.”
Recalling her daughter’s online popularity, she said Brianna “loved having all of the likes that she used to receive” and described her as “the life and soul of the party”.
Ms Ghey called on Ms Keegan to introduce mindfulness lessons in schools, adding: “It’s such an important thing to be taught, how to take care of your mental health, how to build mental resilience and also how to be more empathetic.”
Asked about her happiest memory of her late daughter, she said: “It probably sounds quite daft but it’s just being at home in our pyjamas just relaxing together, watching something stupid on TV and eating pizza.”
In a statement released on Friday, Jenkinson’s family said they agreed with the verdict of the jury, the life sentence given to their daughter and the decision to name her and Ratcliffe.
The family added their lives had been left “in turmoil” as they thanked Ms Ghey for her “incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family”.
“Her compassion is overwhelming and we are forever grateful. To all of Brianna’s family and friends, our community, and everyone else that has been affected by this horror, we are truly sorry.”