Rishi Sunak bows to the Online Safety Bill rebels

Rishi Sunak and Michelle Donelan will this afternoon bow to the inevitable and accept rebel changes to the Online Safety Bill. They are doing so after it became obvious that the government was going to lose a vote on the legislation, due to have its remaining stages in the Commons later today.

Tory backbenchers Bill Cash and Miriam Cates have said they won’t be pressing their amendment to a vote after reaching an agreement with ministers. Their proposals, which had the support of at least 50 Conservative MPs, as well as the backing of the Labour Party, would have meant tech bosses would face jail if they failed to protect children from harmful content on their platforms. 

The compromise from the government, which the rebels have agreed to after a weekend of talks, means bosses who ‘consent or connive in ignoring enforceable requirements, risking serious harm to children’ will face jail.