Jayne Dowle

The horrific death of seven people on the A66 in Cleveland makes sad mockery of politicians pontificating about young people and social media. When the last Labour Prime Minister announced his plan - to ban social media access for children under 16, covering TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X, by spring 2027 - many cynics wondered just how enforceable this might be.

Seven months ago, the government announced its long-promised strategy to ‘bear down’ on violence against women and girls (VAWG), but only seven months later changes to sentencing laws are delivering an absolute kick in the teeth.