Bereaved families and survivors of those who died by suicide linked to an online forum have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to support a public inquiry. The forum, which has not been named to prevent further harm, has been described as a "suicide grooming forum" that encourages vulnerable individuals to take their own lives. The Molly Rose Foundation, a charity supporting suicide prevention, has warned that the number of deaths linked to the forum could be much higher than the 164 recorded over five years.
In May, the site’s operator was fined £950,000 by Ofcom, the UK’s online safety regulator, for failing to comply with the Online Safety Act. However, Ofcom confirmed in July that it could not pursue further legal action against the forum. The regulator stated that changes made by the US-based site to block UK users represented the "fullest extent of what can be achieved" under the Act. Any further action would affect global users, which is outside the UK’s legal jurisdiction, and all possible legal routes have now been exhausted.
Campaigners, including the Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms group (FSPOSH), supported by the Molly Rose Foundation, expressed deep disappointment with the decision. They accused multiple agencies of failing to act and said they live with the consequences of those failures every day. The group criticized successive governments for delaying the passage of the Online Safety Act and suggested Ofcom had not acted with the urgency the situation required.
The campaigners also expressed frustration over the inability to extradite Kenneth Law, a Canadian national whose products are linked to the deaths of 112 people in the UK. Although Law pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide in Canada, none of those charges related to UK victims. British authorities believed he would have challenged any extradition request due to "double jeopardy" laws, which prevent someone from being tried twice for the same crime.
Campaigners referenced past government failures in high-profile scandals such as Grenfell, the infected blood scandal, the Horizon Post Office scandal, and Hillsborough. They cited Burnham’s work with the Hillsborough families and urged him to show the same commitment to justice and accountability for those affected by the suicide forum. Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, emphasized that the evidence of the forum’s role in deaths is "undeniable" and called on Burnham to act decisively. Ofcom has stated that it can only use the powers granted to it and is working with the government to consider whether those powers can be strengthened. The government has been asked for a response.
Bereaved Families Demand Inquiry Into Suicide Forum Linked to UK Deaths
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