Bereaved families urge PM Burnham to order inquiry into suicide forum linked to at least 164 UK deaths

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Families bereaved by a US-based suicide grooming forum have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for a public inquiry into "the failures that cost their lives". The forum is not named in the interests of harm reduction; it has been connected to at least 164 deaths in the UK across five years, and the Molly Rose Foundation has cautioned that the real figure is "likely to be countless more". The campaign group FSPOSH, appearing alongside a survivor, described the harm done as "frankly unimaginable". Ofcom acknowledged in July that every legal avenue available under the Online Safety Act had been exhausted.

In May, the forum's US-based operator was handed a £950,000 fine — the first penalty ever issued by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act.

Ofcom said it cannot compel ISPs to block access for UK users because the forum had already restricted them itself, stripping away the legal basis for further action.

Campaigners describe themselves as "devastated" by Ofcom's July climbdown and are now bringing their demand for accountability directly to the PM.