School smartphone ban will not become law after MP drops proposal, Sky News understands
Plans to ban smartphones in schools have been dropped after the government refused to support a change in the law, Sky News understands.
Josh MacAlister, the Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington, put forward the proposal earlier this month to stop children “doom-scrolling” – the act of spending excessive amounts of time online consuming negative news or social media content.
However, upon revealing the details of his Safer Phones Bill, Number 10 immediately indicated it could not support the measure on the grounds that headteachers already have the power to ban phones – although it is not upheld in law.
It is understood Mr MacAlister has now dropped this element of his bill in the hope the government will support its other aspects.
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Mr MacAlister’s bill, which received broad support from cross-party MPs, education unions and charities, also calls for the age of “internet adulthood” – the minimum age to create social media profiles and email accounts – to be raised from 13 to 16.
It also wants to strengthen the powers of the regulator Ofcom to protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive and to commit the government to review further regulation if needed of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under 16.
Although the government indicated it could not back the phones ban, there has been some confusion on its overall position on the bill after some cabinet ministers, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, signalled their support.
“Given the impact of smartphone use and addiction on the mental health of children and young people and the concerns from parents, this is a really timely debate,” he posted on X.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this month, Mr MacAlister, who chaired an independent review of children’s social care for the former government, said there was a “huge public health problem” with children around the world having increasing levels of mental health problems, issues with sleep and being impacted by phones in school.
“I’m only interested in one thing, which is making sure we can change the law to protect children and reduce screen time and get them back to having a healthier childhood,” he said.
“Parents are saying they’re facing an impossible choice between either keeping their kids off smartphones and ostracising them, or letting children get on these phones and seeing all the harmful effects that it can cause.
Labour MP Josh MacAlister
“And we need to shape some collective rules that help parents and teachers make better choices for children.
“Children themselves are recognising the harm that comes with all of the doom-scrolling.”
Current guidance to schools in England intended to stop the use of mobile phones during the school day is non-statutory, and was introduced earlier this year by the previous Tory government.
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Sky News has approached the government for comment. Earlier this month, a government spokesperson said: “We all want to find the best way of ensuring children are kept safe while also benefiting from the latest digital technology.
“The Online Safety Act will introduce strong safeguards for children, preventing them from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content. This will include requiring companies to check the age of children so that parents can have peace of mind about the safety of their children online.
“The vast majority of schools already handle the use of mobile phones effectively, including with bans. Legislating for an outright ban would simply remove the autonomy from school leaders who know their pupils and their communities best.”
Mr MacAlister’s bill is due to have its second reading – the first opportunity MPs have to debate the contents of a bill – in March.
An investigation has been launched into a former Reform MP over alleged racial abuse against a Sky News journalist.
The parliamentary standards commissioner is investigating James McMurdock, who was elected as a Reform MP last year but suspended himself after allegations emerged over loans he claimed during the pandemic.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP, wrote to the watchdog in August to urge an investigation into Mr McMurdock’s “use of social media to apparently facilitate racial abuse” against Sky News political correspondent Mhari Aurora.
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The standards commissioner has now confirmed it will consider allegations that Mr McMurdock started an “N-Tower” on social media by posting the single letter “N” under an X post that was critical of Aurora.
This was described by Mr Obese-Jecty as “a means of using a racial slur against an individual on an online platform whilst circumventing moderation that would remove racially abusive content”.
He added: “The practice involves spelling out a racial slur vertically with each individual posting a single letter of the word in order to spell it vertically” as the posts appear below each other.
Mr McMurdock is under investigation for potentially breaching rule 11 of the House of Commons Code of Conduct.
This states: “Members shall never undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its Members generally.”
Ben Obese-Jecty. Pic: Parliament
Mr Obese-Jecty said in his complaint that the alleged actions of the former Reform MP “reflect a lack of adherence” to the seven principles of public life.
He said by “deleting the post without challenging the subsequent spelling” that was started by him, Mr McMurdock showed a “failure to challenge poor behaviour” and “absence of moral courage”.
Mr Obese-Jecty added: “Having repeatedly experienced this specific type of online racial abuse myself I am horrified that a fellow member of parliament would apparently see this as a legitimate means of challenging a Westminster lobby journalist in a public forum.
“I sincerely hope that there is a coherent and believable explanation for this horrendous action.”
At the time, Mr McMurdock appeared to deny he made the post, sharing a screenshot of X’s AI assistant Grok claiming he never posted the letter N, based on a screenshot of the N-Tower.
Grok is a large language model, which is known to be inaccurate.
He added that Mr Obese-Jecty’s “complaint regarding the alleged posting of a single letter is beyond ridiculous”.
Mr McMurdock has been contacted for comment.
Another former Conservative MP has defected to Reform UK.
Maria Caulfield, who served as the MP for Lewes for nearly a decade, as well as a government minister, is the 13th ex-Tory to join Nigel Farage’s party, which continues to gather momentum.
The announcement of her move on Tuesday follows sitting MP Danny Kruger’s decision to defect yesterday and head up Reform’s work to prepare for government.
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Ms Caulfield, a former health minister, told GB News: “If you are Conservative right-minded, then the future is Reform. The country is going to change a lot.
“The same people who thought that Brexit would not happen think that Reform will not happen. They are in for a shock.”
She added: “I have joined. My husband joined a few months ago and I joined a month ago.”
Reacting to the defection, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch admitted her party is having a “tough and bumpy time”, but reiterated her argument that it takes time to develop policies, and called on the public and her party to be patient.
Ms Caulfield is a former nurse, and her first ministerial job came in 2021, when she joined the Department for Health in Boris Johnson’s government.
After a spell on the backbenches during the brief premiership of Liz Truss, she was brought back into government under Rishi Sunak, becoming the minister responsible for mental health and women’s health.
She lost her seat at the 2024 general election to the Liberal Democrats, with her vote share having plummeted by nearly 22%.
‘We need to hold our nerve’
Her announcement follows that of Danny Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire, who announced his move at a press conference alongside Nigel Farage on Monday.
He said the Conservative Party is “over”, and Reform is now the primary vehicle for conservatism.
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Sitting MP Danny Kruger defects to Reform UK.
But shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said his analysis was “profoundly wrong”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is certainly the case that we had a devastating defeat about a year ago, that we lost that connection with the electorate, that trust with the electorate, and it is also true that it will take us time to rebuild that.”
He added: “We need to hold our nerve.”
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