Starmer against 'simply banning' children's phones

The prime minister has had his say on the debate around children's screen time

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he is not in favour of "simply banning" phones for children under 16.

In May, a committee of MPs said the new government should consider a ban within its first year, warning of the "serious dangers" posed to children online.

The prime minister said there was a "serious question" to be asked about what content children can access.

However, he would not be drawn on whether his own teenage children have their screen time monitored.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain, Sir Keir said "I think we need to look again" at how online content is controlled.

But the prime minister, who has repeatedly expressed concerns about his children's privacy, said he and his wife had taken a "strong decision" to keep their offspring out of political discussions.

"Generally, I do think we should look at what is available online to children, but in relation to simply banning phones for under-16s, I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think that's a practical way forward," he said.

Speaking to the programme during his trip to Washington DC for the Nato summit, Sir Keir said he would "sit down with anyone" to look at how to put in place better protections.

"All parents and everybody across the country is concerned about what can actually be accessed on a phone," he said.

In February, the previous government issued guidance for schools to restrict phone use during the school day.

It suggested examples of how to achieve a phone-free environment, including a total ban on school premises, or rules requiring that handsets are given in at the start of the day.

Sir Keir met Esther Ghey when she visited Parliament to campaign after the death of her daughter, Brianna.

She has called for children to be stopped from having access to social media apps on their phones, an idea that was backed by the children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza.

In May, the Education Select Committee said children's screen time had been rising year on year.

One in four children use their phones in a manner that resembles "behavioural addiction", its report said, while 79% of children have encountered violent pornography before the age of 18.

The report said the Online Safety Act, which puts responsibility on social media firms to protect children from harmful material, would play a role in keeping children safe, but not until it was fully implemented in 2026.

Children's charity the NSPCC, however, has said the debate on screen time and online safety has so far had the voices of young people themselves "glaringly absent" from it.