Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Facebook users to be given legal right to delete posts made as children, Theresa May promises

The internet has brought a 'wealth of opportunity, but also significant new risks', Mrs May says

Saturday 13 May 2017 18:52 BST

The move is designed to give users more protection online (iStock)

The Conservatives have promised to give users the right to delete posts from Twitter and Facebook made before they turned 18 if they win the general election.

The move is designed to give teenagers and adults more control over what information they have online.

Under the plans, social media firms will also have to take action to stop search terms directing users to inappropriate sites.

It is hoped the move will stop children accidentally stumbling on porn, with some adult channels featuring x-rated videos that have titles which play on the names of well-known films and characters.

Theresa May said that the internet had brought “a wealth of opportunity, but also significant new risks which have evolved faster than society's response to them”.

She said: “We want social media companies to do more to help redress the balance and will take action to make sure they do.”

Among these measures are penalties for web giants who fail to stop children accessing harmful content, and a “comply or complain” system which will require internet companies to take down content that has been the subject of complaints.

Liberal Democrat former Cabinet minister Alistair Carmichael said: “It is certainly bold of the Conservatives to boast how they can protect people on the internet the day after the NHS has been hacked with a loophole apparently built by the US Government.

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Show all 6

1/6Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

The elderly

“We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population,” Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital.

Getty

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs

Jeremy Hunt has called for a “honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments”, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called “very serious problems at some hospitals” by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunt’s plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service.

Getty

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Simon Stevens, head of NHS England

Reports that “key members” of Ms May’s team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required.

Getty

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Previous health policy, not funding

In an interview with Sky News’s Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been “ducked by government over the years”. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a “humanitarian crisis” and said health funding was at record levels. “We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need,” said the Prime Minister. “They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required… Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in.” But doctors accused Ms May of being “in denial” about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals.

Getty Images

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours

Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise – introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2000 – should only be for “those who actually need it”. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had “less stringent” rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame.

Getty Images

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

No one

Mr Hunt was accused of “hiding” from the public eye following news of the Red Cross’s comments and didn’t make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying “the public will want to know, Mr Hunt”. “Sorry Beth, I’ve answered questions about this already,” replied Mr Hunt. “But you didn’t answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didn’t want to water it down. Is that what you’re saying?” said Ms Rigby. “It’s very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then won’t answer the question, Mr Hunt”. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in.

Getty

“Government and technology companies must do more to find a real solution to problematic content online but having a government agency deciding what constitutes acceptable free speech isn't it.

“We need to be working with technology companies to address the problem of hate speech, not pretending it's an easy problem that can be solved with a press release.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies