Harman calls on Starmer for smartphone cull in schools

Harriet Harman has called on Sir Keir Starmer to ban smartphones in schools, amid mounting pressure on the government to take action to stop tech companies from allowing harmful material on their platforms.

- MILLIE COOKE

“Is [the prime minister] going to side with parents who are terrified and want this content off their children’s phones, or is he going to accept the tech bros’ resistance to having to make changes?” Baroness Harman asked.

Sir Keir Starmer hosted a meeting at Downing Street with Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne and children’s charities on Monday to talk about young boys being influenced by misogyny they encounter online.

Baroness Harman – who was made the new UK special envoy for women and girls last month – said: “I would like to see schools actually told top down from Westminster, ‘You have got to ban the use of smartphones in school time,’ and that would then enable all schools not to have a discussion with their parents or to battle it out. But just to say, ‘This is the ruling’.”