Brianna Ghey’s mum says mobile phones should be made specifically for children under 16 to protect them from online harms
The mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has said mobile phones should be made specifically for children under 16 to protect them from online harms.
In an interview with Sky News’ Sophy Ridge for the Politics Hub, Esther Ghey added that tech giants and mobile phone companies need to “take more responsibility for children’s welfare”.
She also believes the Online Safety Act, introduced by the government in October 2023, doesn’t go far enough and called for more “drastic measures” to protect children.
Ms Ghey’s daughter Brianna, 16, was stabbed 28 times by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who were 15 at the time of the attack, after they lured her to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington, Cheshire, on 11 February last year.
Brianna was described as an anxious and vulnerable teenager, with Ms Ghey believing this was partly because she spent a lot of time on her phone.
Brianna Ghey was killed by two teenagers in February 2023. Pic: Cheshire Police
Ms Ghey also believes Brianna would still be alive if her teenage killers had been unable to access violent content on both the dark web and the regular internet as they plotted the murder.
Asked whether she believes there should be a ban on mobile phones in schools, Ms Ghey said it would be too difficult to enforce and there are “already so many pressures on teachers”.
However, she added: “I would like to see mobile phone companies, tech companies take more responsibility for children’s welfare… I’d like to see mobile phones specifically made for under 16s where they can’t access social media sites in the first place.
“Also, I’d like there to be a link to the adult’s phone, to the parent’s phone.
“There is already software available because schools are using this kind of software that can flag up concerning words, so that if a child is searching what Brianna’s killers did, then it would flag up instantly to the parent’s phone and then they will be able to take action.”
Esther Ghey attended a vigil in Warrington last weekend to mark a year since her daughter’s death
Calling on the government to do more to protect children online, Ms Ghey said she is “willing to speak to the experts and to the regulator (Ofcom) and just see what we can do”.
“I think it’s important to have these discussions and to see what we can do moving forward,” she said.
Ms Ghey has also met with the father of Molly Russell, who died from self-harm after viewing content related to suicide online, and is “really hoping to work alongside him to try to push for a change”.
Molly’s father Ian has campaigned for better protections against potentially dangerous social media algorithms since his daughter’s death in 2017.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Sophy Ridge, Ms Ghey also repeated her wish to meet Jenkinson’s mother.
She said she would like to “see how it was for her”, adding: “And if she had the same struggles as what I had with Brianna. And just to see what life was like as a family, really.”
Read more:
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From 11 February 2024: Brianna Ghey’s mum Esther says ‘hug your children tight’
Ms Ghey has reached out to Jenkinson’s mother but said she has not yet had a response, adding: “Hopefully we can meet in the future.
“If we do, it will be a very private and personal thing for both of us.”
Ms Ghey said she doesn’t blame the parents of Jenkinson and Ratcliffe for Brianna’s death, adding: “I know how hard it is to monitor what your child is doing and to safeguard them and to keep on track of everything that they’re taking in online.”
She also said she felt the judge’s sentencing was correct and believes her daughter’s killers will “never get out of prison”.
Ms Ghey added: “I think that Scarlett is very dangerous to society. And I think that her behaviour since being found guilty has also been very concerning. And I think that prison is definitely the best place for her.”
Brianna was transgender, with the Judge Mrs Justice Yip saying during sentencing that she took into account the “transphobic hostility” expressed by Ratcliffe before Brianna’s death.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe have been jailed
Asked if she felt the fact her daughter was trans played a role in the killing, Ms Ghey said: “I think in Eddie’s case, it was a contributing factor. But I do think that Eddie is a hateful boy anyway, but, yeah, it definitely was (a contributing factor).”
Jenkinson was jailed for at least 22 years and Ratcliffe for a minimum of 20 years. They will be transferred to adult prisons when they turn 18.
Judge Mrs Justice Yip said both will remain in prison until they “no longer present a danger” to the public.
Ms Ghey said she would like Brianna’s “lasting legacy” to be improved mental health for young people and mindfulness taught across schools in England.
She added that practising mindfulness herself had helped her have the “mental resilience” to cope with her ordeal since her daughter’s death.
UK
‘I was told this was a wonder drug but not warned about the deathly consequences’: 100 faces of infected blood scandal
“Losing Gary, my soul mate, was beyond painful,” says Kathryn Croucher, whose husband died aged 42 in 2010.
“Every day was a struggle dealing with the knowledge he was HIV and Hepatitis C positive.”
“Mum always said she was given a death sentence,” recalls Ronan Fitzgerald. His mother, Jane, died aged 54 after being infected with Hepatitis C when she was 16. “It was a ticking time bomb.”
Updates:
Scandal was ‘not an accident’
Follow reaction to report live
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The faces of the infected blood scandal.
More than 30,000 Britons were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
Around 3,000 people have died as a result of the scandal, while many more still live under the shadow of health problems, debilitating treatments and stigma. Now, the findings of a public inquiry, first announced in 2017, will finally be published.
These are 100 faces of infected blood victims that either they, or their families, have shared with Sky News.
Click the images to read their stories.
Sky News will have full coverage of the infected blood report on TV, online and on the Sky News app today.
Sky News would like to thank everyone who contributed to this project.
Julian Assange will be allowed to appeal against his extradition to the United States.
Two judges responded today to US assurances that Mr Assange will not face the death penalty – and can rely on the First Amendment right to free speech if he faced a trial for spying.
The WikiLeaks founder faces prosecution in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information after the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2017. Pic: Reuters
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a police van after being arrested in London in 2019. Pic: Reuters
Edward Fitzgerald KC, representing Assange, criticised the assurances of Joe Biden’s US administration at the hearing. He said: “Based on the principle of the separation of powers, the US court can and will apply US law, whatever the executive may say or do.”
He added most of the promises were “blatantly inadequate” – but they had accepted the promise about the death penalty.
In written submissions, the barrister said while the assurance over the death penalty was “an unambiguous executive promise”, the other assurance does not give “any reliable promise as to future action”.
The barrister added: “What needs to be conclusively removed is the risk that he will be prevented from relying on the first amendment on grounds of nationality.”
But James Lewis KC, representing the US government, insisted the “judicial branch of the United States will take due notice of this solemn assurance given by its government in the course of international relations”.
In written submissions, he said there is “no question” that Assange, if extradited, “will be entitled to the full panoply of due process trial rights, including the right to raise, and seek to rely upon, the first amendment as a defence”.
He later told the court: “The assurance does make it clear that he will not be discriminated against because of his nationality.
“He can and will be able to raise all those arguments and his nationality will not prejudice a fair trial.”
Today’s decision is the latest chapter in 13 years of legal battles and detentions for Australian-born Mr Assange.
Supporters of Mr Assange have been gathering outside the High Court. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
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The US authorities want to put Mr Assange on trial over 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act.
They claim his actions with WikiLeaks were reckless, damaged national security, and endangered the lives of agents.
During a two-day hearing in February, lawyers for Mr Assange asked for permission to challenge a judge’s dismissal of the majority of his case to prevent his extradition.
In March, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson dismissed most of Mr Assange’s legal arguments – but said unless assurances were given by the US, he would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds.
These assurances are that Assange would be protected by and allowed to rely on the First Amendment – which protects freedom of speech in the US – that he is not “prejudiced at trial” due to his nationality, and that the death penalty is not imposed.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Supporters of Mr Assange have already been gathering outside the High Court to continue their calls for his release.
Mr Assange is currently being held in London’s high security Belmarsh prison.
Detectives are on the hunt for two men following a fatal stabbing in Glasgow at the weekend.
Police Scotland said the force received a report of a man being attacked and stabbed in Saracen Street, Possil, at around 5pm on Saturday.
Emergency services attended and took the 27-year-old victim to the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he later died.
The death is being treated as “suspicious” ahead of the completion of a post-mortem examination.
Investigating officers have since established that two men were involved in the attack.
The suspects have been described as white and in their 30s.
One was wearing a light-blue top and black shorts, while the other was dressed in a white top, black shorts and black trainers.
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Officers have been gathering and reviewing CCTV footage from in and around the neighbourhood as the probe continues.
Additional patrols have also been mobilised to the area, and anyone with information or concerns can approach these officers.
Read more from Sky News:
The stories behind 100 victims of infected blood scandal
Probe launched after man dies in police custody
Detective Inspector Lesley-Ann McGee said: “It was a warm, sunny day and there were lots of people out enjoying the weather in Saracen.
“I am asking them to get in touch with us with any information that could assist us in establishing the motive for this attack. If you saw, heard or know anything please contact us.
“I’m also asking people with dashcam or doorbell recording equipment to check for any footage that could assist our investigation.
“A family is mourning the loss of a loved one and it’s imperative we are able to answer how their loved one died.”
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