Fraser Knight

Smoking-style warnings on social media backed by seven out of ten adults, LBC poll finds Seven in ten Brits would support the introduction of cigarette packet-style warnings on social media platforms, an LBC poll has found.

Smoking-style warnings on social media backed by seven out of ten adults, LBC poll finds

@lbc.co.uk

www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/smok...

Four-fold increase in the number of child sexual abuse images discovered online LBC can reveal there's been a four-fold increase in the number of child sexual abuse images discovered online over the last twelve months.

Four-fold increase in the number of child sexual abuse images discovered online

✍🏻 Chris Chambers

www.lbc.co.uk/news/four-fo...

Children exposed to psychological and ‘disturbingly real’ harm on metaverse, study warns Children are facing serious risks in the metaverse, including harassment, exposure to inappropriate content and psychological harm, a report shared exclusively with LBC revealed.

Children exposed to psychological and ‘disturbingly real’ harm on metaverse, study warns

✍🏻 Guy Stewart

www.lbc.co.uk/news/exclusi...

LBC Investigates: What a 13-Year-Old Girl Sees on TikTok As part of LBC's Online Safety Day, we conducted an experiment to see exactly what kind of content a 13-year-old girl would be exposed to on TikTok. The results were eye-opening – and deeply concernin...

LBC Investigates: What a 13-Year-Old Girl Sees on TikTok

From makeup tutorials and dance challenges… to self-harm, eating disorders, and even suicide ideation

✍🏻 Henry Riley

www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/lbc-...

Family of murdered Bristol teenager slams YouTube and Snapchat over ‘torture’ of online rap videos The families of two murder victims have expressed their “disgust” at the failure of some of the world’s biggest tech sites to remove rap videos featuring their loved ones’ killers and glorifying their...

Families of murdered Bristol teenagers slam YouTube and Snapchat over ‘torture’ of online rap videos, posted from behind bars.

✍🏻 Heather Cartwright / Connor Hand

www.lbc.co.uk/crime/famili...

LBC is dedicating an entire day of programming and content to online safety today, to focus on some of the dangers and hold those in power to account.

Here are some of the stories our reporters have found👇🏼

'We can’t be everywhere' - What a night with the Met taught me about police cuts The police get a lot of criticism.

'We can’t be everywhere'

Here's what spending a full response shift with the Met taught me about police cuts @lbc.co.uk

www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

The arrest, at 6am in Dartford, came a week after another woman was charged with similar offences in North London.

Investigators tell me it’s too soon to say if they’re linked.

The 42 year-old in Kent is said to have sat the Life in the UK test for 12 people, in disguise.

EXCL: A second woman in as many weeks has been arrested by immigration officers for allegedly wearing different wigs to sit the British Citizenship test for other people.

Wigs, designer shoes, watches, bags and suspected false documents were seized in Kent this morning @lbc.co.uk

On police budgets, with forces continuing to announce huge gaps that need to be made up, the Home Secretary told LBC:

“We do need efficiency savings and we recognise of course there are cost pressures and reserves have been run down in recent years”

Police will get extra powers to speed up search warrants in clampdown on soaring mobile phone thefts Police will get extra powers to speed up search warrants in a bid to clamp down on soaring mobile phone theft, LBC can reveal.

Yvette Cooper also confirmed LBC’s story that police will get more powers to tackle phone theft, by carrying out search warrants quicker.

She’s meeting tech bosses today.

“We need policing and tech companies working hand in hand”

Story by @natashaclark.bsky.social

www.lbc.co.uk/crime/police...

Dangers of social media for children 'like cancer risk of smoking', says counter-terrorism chief Britain's head of counter-terrorism policing has called for Parliament to "explore" implementing age verification on social media sites as he compared the harm caused by social media to the "cancer" c...

Responding to comments by the counter terror chief that social media leads to youth violence like smoking does cancer, the Home Sec said she’s ‘really worried’ and nothing can be off the table in limiting its use for children.

www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/soci...

Number of women caught carrying knives trebles in a decade The number of women and girls caught carrying knives has trebled in the last decade, according to new LBC research, with a sharp increase since the rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

As LBC also reveals the number of women caught with knives has trebled in a decade, Yvette Cooper says the figures are ‘stark’ and gave a warning that you’re more likely to become a victim.

“It's dangerous, illegal, and it will just make violence worse”

www.lbc.co.uk/news/exclusi...

Home Secretary backs knife arches in schools as she warns of 'growing violence' caused by social media The Home Secretary has told LBC she would support schools bringing in knife arches to stop children from carrying blades.

The Home Secretary says she would support metal detecting knife arches in schools, to keep pupils safe after a stabbing in Sheffield this week.

www.lbc.co.uk/politics/hom...

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was in the LBC studio this morning taking calls from listeners.

Some key takeaways on knife crime, online safety, phone theft and police budgets 👇🏼

@lbc.co.uk

'My son is not evil': Mother of man who murdered police officer blames attack on 'autistic meltdown' The mother of a man who was found guilty of murdering a police officer has told LBC that her son “is not evil” and that his actions were the result of an “autistic meltdown”.

Read more:

'My son is not evil': Mother of man who murdered police officer blames attack on 'autistic meltdown' - @lbc.co.uk

www.lbc.co.uk/news/my-son-...

“I didn't want my son to be an evil cop killer,” Louis de Zoysa’s mum tells LBC.

“He's not evil. He didn't mean to do this and that gives me comfort.”

Asked what her message to Matt Ratana’s family would be, she says:

“I'm deeply sorry. I'm so sorry for their loss. I think about them every day.”

Elizabeth de Zoysa tells LBC she’s concerned about her son - now 27 - in Belmarsh.

“He's in a wheelchair. He's paralyzed on his right side. Belmarsh just doesn't have the capability to look after him."

The prison service disputes that, saying it caters to all disabilities and prisoner needs.

Elizabeth de Zoysa tells LBC her son "can’t remember" why he killed Sgt Matt Ratana, while he was being detained in 2020.

She adds that she genuinely believes he had an autistic meltdown - “he’s not evil”.

A jury dismissed autism being a defence in de Zoysa's trial.

On the murder of Matt Ratana - and the antique revolver her son used - the mum of Louis de Zoysa tells LBC:

“School failed him, people bullied him and I believe he'd been intimidated by a gang. He'd always had a low level interest in guns and he bought a vintage one from an auction house."

Speaking of the last time she saw him in prison, Elizabeth de Zoysa tells LBC her son “had holes in his shoes, his clothes had holes, his trousers were stained. It didn't look as though he'd washed or brushed his hair for weeks.“

NEW: Cop killer Louis de Zoysa ‘looks like a tramp’ as he serves whole life order at Belmarsh, his mum has told LBC.

He was jailed after he killed Sgt Matt Ratana in Croydon in 2020.

His mum says he still can’t string a sentence together after a brain injury from one of the bullets he shot.

Border Force to be given 'counter-terrorism' powers in crackdown on small boats Immigration authorities are to be given much stronger powers, inspired by those used to prevent terrorism, in an effort to tackle deadly small boat crossings in the English Channel.

Sweeping new powers, inspired by counter terrorism laws, are planned to tackle small boat crossings.

They include a new offence for migrants who refuse help from authorities, endangering lives, and for people who research and plan crossings @lbc.co.uk

www.lbc.co.uk/news/border-...

The chancellor tells LBC flights can take off from a third runway at Heathrow within 10 years, with proposed changes to planning rules.

‘I want to see spades in the ground in this parliament,’ she says.

Rachel Reeves says she ‘knows sustainable aviation and economic growth do go hand in hand’.

Police force to get rid of all support officers because of £5 million funding shortfall Essex Police is set to cut all of its police community support officers as it warns of a £5 million gap in funding that it can’t fill.

Essex Police to cut all PCSOs to balance budget as government still to reveal details of neighbourhood plan – to hire more PCSOs @lbc.co.uk

www.lbc.co.uk/news/essex-p...

Green rules cause delays to thousands of new prison cells, as soaring jail population threatens fresh crisis The creation of thousands of new prison spaces in England and Wales has been held up by environmental regulations, as capacity continues to be squeezed behind bars.

EXCL: Thousands of new prison places, to help ease overcrowding, have been held up by regulations designed to mitigate against water pollution.

Luke Charters MP says ‘it’s a farce that we care more about PH levels than we do about victims’

www.lbc.co.uk/news/prison-...

A 61 year old woman has been arrested, accused of sitting ‘Life in the UK’ tests for at least 14 people, to obtain leave to remain in the country - by using wigs to disguise herself.

The Home Office has shared images, alleging she posed as both female and male applicants @lbc.co.uk

BREAKING: Southport murderer 18 year-old Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years.

The judge said if he’d been 18 when he carried out the attack, he would’ve been handed a whole life term, but ended saying “it’s highly likely he will never be released”.

Met Police out of special measures after boosting performance despite 'failing in almost every area' just 5 months ago The Metropolitan Police has been removed from special measures, following an improvement in its performance - despite the watchdog finding it was failing in most areas in August.

In August, just five months ago, the same inspectorate said the Met was failing in almost every area - and budget constraints could see officer numbers reduced further.

But HMIC reckons enough progress has been made to take the force out of Engage phase.

www.lbc.co.uk/news/met-pol...

London Mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, says there is still more work to do for the Met, to fully rebuild trust among the public - after the scandals that contributed to putting the force in special measures in June 2022.