Mum of murdered teen sends warning to Keir Starmer on Donald Trump talks - 'shocking'

The mum of murdered teen has said it is "shocking" that could be watered down to please Donald Trump in tariff negotiations.

Esther Ghey warned "young people are losing their lives" and said she is "frustrated" at the government's approach to online safety. "I think the fact that it could be potentially watered down is absolutely shocking. If anything, it needs to be even stronger," she told the .

"While we are questioning whether it's strong enough or not 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 issues because of what they are accessing online, and we really do need to take a hard stance on this."

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Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said the "basic protections in the Online Safety Act are not up for negotiation", appearing to leave the door open for some parts of it to be eased. It comes after was in the "national interest" and getting an economic deal with the US.

Brianna, 16, was murdered in February 2023 by, two 15-year-olds who fantasised about extreme violence. Ms Ghey has been fighting for stronger restrictions on social media and a for young people after Scarlett watched violent material on the dark web. Brianna was lured to her death via messages on app Snapchat where she was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in a park in Cheshire.

Ms Ghey said she would now call the mother of the Scarlett, Emma Jenkinson, "a friend" as she said she is "just a normal mother" who had no idea what her daughter was doing on her phone. Speaking about meeting Ms Jenkinson, Ms Ghey said: "I really appreciate Emma. I would call her a friend now. She's just a normal mother and she had no idea what her child was accessing - this is the danger with smartphones.

"I suppose it's helped me in a way: you can make up stories in your own head about the way people are. It was important for me to meet her, to understand that she was a normal person. It's helped me to see that we are both navigating something extremely difficult - and she's lost a child too."

Campaigner Roxy Longworth, who spoke to the BBC alongside Ms Ghey, said she wanted to bridge the growing "generation gap" around social media. Ms Longworth was coerced into sending nude pictures to a boy at school when she was just 13, and subsequently experienced serious mental health problems. "A lot of young people I've spoken to have said that they're scared to tell their parents about anything they see online, because they're worried their phones will be taken away as punishment," she said.

The Prime Minister and officials are locked in talks with and his team after the US President as part of his "Liberation Day" blitz last week. Rumours have been swirling that the UK is looking at cutting the Digital Service Tax in an effort to secure a deal to lessen the hit from the tariffs - which could amount to a tax cut for the ’s richest tech billionaires.

It has also emerged that the draft UK-US trade agreement reportedly contains commitments by No10 to review its online safety laws and digital competition regulations. It has triggered a wave of anxiety among online safety campaigners who fear children could be at risk.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said that "we won't be walking away from" the idea that online platforms need to be designed in a way to protect children from harm. Asked about the possibility of safety measures being watered down as part of a trade deal, Mr Jones said: "The basic protections in the online safety acts are not up for negotiation."

Pushed on whether it is up for negotiation with Washington, he 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 spokesman 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.”

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