Social media companies will be fined up to £60,000 each time a post relating to knife crime is not removed from their sites in a bid to stop children viewing “sickening” content.

The new sanction expands on previously announced plans to fine individual tech executives up to £10,000 if their platforms fail to remove material advertising or glorifying knives following 48 hours of a police warning.

It means tech platforms and their executives could collectively face up to £70,000 in penalties for every post relating to knife crime they fail to remove, with the new laws applying to online search engines as well as social media platforms and marketplaces.

Crime and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the content that young people scroll through every day online “is sickening” adding: “That is why we are now going further than ever to hold to account the tech companies who are not doing enough to safeguard young people from content which incites violence, particularly in young boys.”

The sanctions for tech platforms will be introduced via an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.

It is separate to the Online Safety Bill, which aims to protect children from online harm, which some campaigners and parents have criticised for not going far enough.

The Home Office said today’s announcement follows “significant consultation” with the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, launched by Sir Keir Starmer in September as part of his bid to half knife offences in a decade.

Patrick Green, chief executive of The Ben Kinsella Trust, a knife prevention charity which is part of the coalition, welcomed the measure, telling Sky News social media companies have “proved themselves to be incapable of self-regulation”.

“There’s been a real reluctance of social media companies to take action sufficiently quickly. It’s shameful, we shouldn’t need legislation,” he said.

The Ben Kinsella Trust is named after teenager Ben Kinsella who was fatally stabbed in 2008 on the way home from the pub after celebrating his GCSEs.

Months earlier, Ben had written to then prime minister Gordon Brown to urge his government to tackle knife crime.

Knife crime rates soar

However, the problem has soared since then.

In the year to March 2024, there were 53 teenage victims aged 13-19 in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is a 140% increase on the 22 teenage victims a decade earlier.

Overall, police recorded 54,587 knife-related offences in 2024, up 2% on the previous year and more than double the 26,000 offences recorded in 2014.

Mr Green told Sky News that while knife crime has been happening “long before social media took hold”, online content glamorising the possession of a knife is hindering efforts to reduce it.

“There will be pictures of these knives [on social media] with ‘follow me’ luring young people onto places where these knives are sold. It’s never been easier for a child to buy a knife.”

‘One part of a larger problem’

However, while welcoming today’s announcement he said social media was “one part of a larger problem”, adding that “provisions of youth services have been decimated” and “much more needs to be done”.

The government’s plan to halve knife crime in a decade includes banning zombie-style knives and ninja swords, with a nationwide surrender scheme launching in July, and stronger laws for online retailers selling knives.

Ministers also want to increase prison sentences for selling weapons to under-18s and introduce a new offence for possessing a weapon with intent for violence, with a prison sentence of up to four years.

Read more:
Young people in Birmingham drill recording studio on reality of knife crime
What are the UK’s knife crime laws – and how could they be tightened?

Government ‘can’t police the internet’

Last month, Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty suggested violent videos viewed online should be used as evidence to prosecute under the new law. He was speaking during a debate he secured on knife crime, in which he criticised a wider culture which “valorises” criminality and gangs in music and the media.

On the measures announced today, the Huntingdon MP told Sky News that while “any measures to help reduce instances of knife crime are hugely welcome”, he was doubtful that the sanctions could be effectively enforced.

“The sheer scale of content on social media that glorifies or incites violence is staggering, let alone content returned by search engines,” he said.

“The government can’t possibly hope to realistically police the internet.

“The government must tackle the culture that promotes and encourages the use of knives and ensure that there are robust consequences to doing so, not simply pretend they will have online content removed.”

Water regulators and the government have failed to provide a trusted and resilient industry at the same time as bills rise, the state spending watchdog has said.

Public trust in the water sector has reached a record low, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on the privatised industry.

Not since monitoring began in 2011 has consumer trust been at such a level, it said.

At the same time, households face double-digit bill hikes over the next five years.

The last time bills rose at this rate was just before the global financial crash, between 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Regulation failure

All three water regulators – Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate – and the government department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) have played a role in the failure, the NAO said, adding they do not know enough about the condition or age of water infrastructure and the level of funding needed to maintain it.

Since the utilities were privatised in 1989, the average rate of replacement for water assets is 125 years, the watchdog said. If the current pace is maintained, it will take 700 years to replace the existing water mains.

Water firms have grappled with leaky pipes and record sewage outflows into UK waterways in recent years, with enforcement action under way against all wastewater companies.

Despite there being three regulators tasked with water, there is no one responsible for proactively inspecting wastewater to prevent environmental harm, the report found.

Instead, regulation is reactive, fining firms when harm has already occurred.

Financial penalties and rewards, however, have not worked as water company performance hasn’t been “consistent or significantly improved” in recent years, the report said.

‘Gaps, inconsistencies, tension’

The NAO called for this to change and for a body to be tasked with the whole process and assets. At present, the Drinking Water Inspectorate monitors water coming into a house, but there is no entity looking at water leaving a property.

Similarly no body is tasked with cybersecurity for wastewater businesses.

As well as there being gaps, “inconsistent” watchdog responsibilities cause “tension” and overlap, the report found.

The Environment Agency has no obligation to balance customer affordability with its duty to the environment when it assesses plans, the NAO said.

Company and investment criticism

Regulators have also been blamed for failing to drive enough funding into the water sector.

From having spoken to investors through numerous meetings, the NAO learnt that confidence had declined, which has made it more expensive to invest in companies providing water.

Even investors found Ofwat’s five-yearly price review process “complex and difficult”, the report said.

Financial resilience of the industry has “weakened” with Ofwat having signalled concerns about the financial resilience of 10 of the 16 major water companies.

Most notably, the UK’s largest provider, Thames Water, faced an uncertain future and potential nationalisation before securing an emergency £3bn loan, adding to its already massive £16bn debt pile.

Read more from Sky News:
Hundreds of jobs at risk as The Original Factory Shop launches survival plan
Government to decide on ‘postcode pricing’ plan for electricity bills by summer

Water businesses have been overspending, with only some extra spending linked to high inflation in recent years, leading to rising bills, the NAO said.

Over the next 25 years, companies plan to spend £290bn on infrastructure and investment, while Ofwat estimates a further £52bn will be needed to deliver up to 30 water supply projects, including nine reservoirs.

What else is going on?

From today, a new government law comes into effect which could see water bosses who cover up illegal sewage spills imprisoned for up to two years.

Such measures are necessary, Defra said, as some water companies have obstructed investigations and failed to hand over evidence on illegal sewage discharges, preventing crackdowns.

Meanwhile, the Independent Water Commission (IWC), led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, is carrying out the largest review of the industry since privatisation.

What the regulators and government say?

In response to the report, Ofwat said: “The NAO’s report is an important contribution to the debate about the future of the water industry.

“We agree with the NAO’s recommendations for Ofwat and we continue to progress our work in these areas, and to contribute to the IWC’s wider review of the regulatory framework. We also look forward to the IWC’s recommendations and to working with government and other regulators to better deliver for customers and the environment.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We have worked closely with the National Audit Office in producing this report and welcome its substantial contribution to the debate on the future of water regulation.

“We recognise the significant challenges facing the water industry. That is why we will be working with Defra and other water regulators to implement the report’s recommendations and update our frameworks to reflect its findings.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “The government has taken urgent action to fix the water industry – but change will not happen overnight.

“We have put water companies under tough special measures through our landmark Water Act, with new powers to ban the payment of bonuses to polluting water bosses and bring tougher criminal charges against them if they break the law.”

Water UK, which represents the water firms, has been contacted for comment.

Street parties, concerts and a military flypast are just some of the ways the country is set to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

Victory in Europe Day – to give it its full name – marks the end of the Second World War in Europe on 8 May 1945, when the Allies accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany.

Four days of celebrations have been organised by the government for this year’s anniversary, which will run from Monday 5 May to Thursday 8 May.

Planned events include a military procession and flypast in central London and 2,500 beacons being lit across the UK.

Britons have also been urged to gather together in streets, gardens, town halls, clubs and pubs, similar to how people marked the end of nearly six years of war 80 years ago.

Here is everything you need to know about the celebrations and how to get involved.

Monday 5 May

Military procession and flypast

VE Day celebrations will begin outside Parliament Square in central London at midday.

Here, an actor will recite extracts from the iconic Winston Churchill VE Day speech.

A young person will pass the Commonwealth War Graves Torch for Peace to a 100-year-old Second World War veteran who served in the Normandy campaign.

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will then lead the procession from Parliament Square, down Whitehall.

They will travel past the Cenotaph, which will be draped in Union Jack flags, continue up to Trafalgar Square, under Admiralty Arch and down the Mall towards the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace.

They will be followed by a procession group featuring marching members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. Cadets and other uniformed youth groups will also take part.

The King and Queen, along with other members of the royal family and the prime minister, will join Second World War veterans to watch the military procession.

People will then be invited to fill the Mall – before a flypast of the Red Arrows and 23 current and historic military aircraft takes place.

The flypast will include a Voyager transport aircraft, a P8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets and will culminate with the red, white, and blue smoke of the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows.

Historic Second World War-era aircraft from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will also take part.

Watch VE Day coverage live on Sky News from 10am, with Sarah-Jane Mee hosting a special programme from Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace. She will be joined by Royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills and Sky News Royal events commentator Alastair Bruce.

Street parties

Various street parties, barbecues and community events will be held on the Bank Holiday Monday to mark VE Day.

After the procession and flypast, the King and Queen will host a tea party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation at Buckingham Palace.

HMS Belfast, the most significant surviving Second World War warship, will host an afternoon tea street party and an evening party in London, with talks from keynote speakers.

Elsewhere around the country, highlights on 5 May include an open-air music festival in Witton Park, Blackburn, complete with fairground rides, inflatables, stalls and food, a VE Day picnic in the Shropshire town of Caven Arms and a performance of wartime music by the Wrentham Brass Band in Norfolk.

In the South and South East of England, the Fort Amherst Heritage Trust in Chatham is hosting tours of the Napoleonic fort with music, food and drink, while Winston Churchill’s family home, Chartwell in Kent, will have family activities and live music.

In the Welsh village of Myddfai, nestled in the Brecon Beacons, there will be a street party, with attendees invited to bring food, dress in 1940s-style clothing and sing along to wartime songs.

Click here for a full list of local events

Tuesday 6 May

An installation of 30,000 ceramic poppies will return to the Tower of London on 6 May for the VE Day anniversary.

The ornaments – which will be viewed by the Queen when they go on display – were originally made in 2014 as part of the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation, which marked 100 years since Britain’s involvement in the First World War.

The latest installation, overseen by designer Tom Piper, will feature tens of thousands of the original ceramic poppies on loan from the Imperial War Museum, as a way to “mark and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many during the Second World War”.

A small part of the poppy installation will be visible to the public for free, with the main installation located inside the grounds of the Tower. It will remain in place until 11 November to mark Armistice Day.

Historic landmarks across the UK will also be lit up on the evening of the 6 May, which you can watch on Sky News with live helicopter shots capturing the scenes.

Wednesday 7 May

In the evening of 7 May, an anniversary concert will take place in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster.

It will mark 80 years since a newsflash told the nation that the next day would be known as Victory Day.

The Parliament Choir will perform pieces of classic music from across Europe and America, with the addition of special guests.

Thursday 8 May

Events planned to mark VE Day itself will kick off with a service in Westminster Abbey, with 1,800 people invited to attend including the King and Queen, veterans, politicians and charities.

In the afternoon, the Royal British Legion, a UK-based charity that supports veterans, will host a private tea party for Second World War veterans and their families.

It will take place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and aims to include veterans who live in the North of England and cannot travel to events in London.

The tea party is expected to attract a large crowd, if not the largest group of Second World War veterans at a VE Day event, and you can watch live coverage of it on Sky News.

In County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, there will be a parade of 80 pipers and drummers along Church Street in Enniskillen.

Pubs will also be allowed to stay open for an extra two hours on 8 May, meaning people will be able to raise a glass until 1am to mark the end of the four-day celebration.

Concerts and film premiere

The government’s VE Day programme of events will conclude with a concert at Horse Guards Parade between 8pm and 10pm on 8 May.

The concert will feature “stars of the stage and screen” as well as performances from military musicians, readings and poignant moments that will tell the story of VE Day and the nation’s reaction to the end of the Second World War.

More than 12,500 people are expected to attend the event, including the King and Queen, as well as 2,500 young people made up of Duke of Edinburgh ambassadors, Commonwealth scholars and representatives from youth groups.

Meanwhile, from 7.30pm at the Royal Albert Hall, the Armed Forces charity SSAFA will host VE Day 80: The Party.

This will feature The RAF Squadronaires, part of the central band of the Royal Air Force, who will perform 1940s songs, and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, who will perform the nation’s best-loved classical anthems.

A new short film by the National Theatre will also be released on 8 May.

The Next Morning, written by stage and screenwriter James Graham, will feature award-winning actors Julian Glover, Sian Phillips, and Joseph Mydell and will take viewers through a series of stories exploring intergenerational perspectives on the end of the war.

Bringing the day to an end, 2,500 beacons will be lit across the UK. The fires will be ignited around 9pm, including on the River Thames at London’s Tower Bridge, in Folkstone, Kent, Bridport in Dorset, Fairhaven Lake and Gardens in Lancashire and Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Friday 9 – Sunday 11 May

Community events around the country will continue into the weekend, although these have not been officially organised by the government.

On the Friday night, there will be a 1940s style dance in Wouldham, Rochester, with a hog roast, a 1940s wartime band and authentic Second World War jeep.

On 10 May in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, there will be a community concert by the band, bugles, pipes and drums of The Royal Irish Regiment at St Macartin’s Cathedral.

In Glasgow on 10 May, there will be a church service at the Veterans Memorial Garden on Baldwin Avenue, followed by a veterans parade. This will finish at the Lincoln Inn where there will be a buffet, music and raffle.

In the Yorkshire village of Catton, there will be a vintage-themed day featuring Second World War memorabilia and vehicles. A similar event is also set to take place in Keelby village hall, in Lincolnshire.