CRACKING DOWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN PRISONS

Another appalling case of social media use in prison came to light earlier this month from one of the men convicted in connection with the brutal killing of Tavis Spencer-Aitkens in Ipswich. The latest was a Snapchat post by Kyreis Davies who clearly should never have had is sentence reduced earlier this year for Tavis’s murder. I understand that all 5 of the men responsible for Tavis’s death have now posted on social media since being locked up. And yesterday I raised in Parliament how this persistent criminal activity must be brought to an end during a general debate before the summer recess.

In these debates, MPs can raise any issues they want. And I felt this one couldn’t be left unmentioned, particularly given the unimaginable additional hurt these posts will have caused to Tavis’s family.

Social media posts from prison often feel like taunts to victims and their families. And they should not have to live with the fear and anxiety that perpetrators who did them harm may show up on social media on any given day.

During my speech I also detailed some of the other despicable cases of social media use by Tavis’s killers which have been brought to my attention since I was elected. Each time I have taken action, including by securing a meeting with the Prisons Minister to bring them to her attention directly. But this cannot be an issue where we play whack-a-mole every time these posts come to light. The current system of punishment for social media use in prison clearly isn’t robust enough to deter further cases. And I called on the Government yesterday to make the punishments much tougher to provide a strong and effective deterrent.

I hope the Government looks at this issue very closely over the coming months and I won’t stop raising it until we see an end to these disgraceful social media posts.