We have a moral responsibility to keep our children safe online

It is both sobering and chilling reading John Naughton’s observations on how embedded social media is in our culture (“Online safety isn’t just a tech problem – it’s a political one”, 12 June). Witness the doom loop of politicians fretting while announcing their concerns on the very same social media they want to change. The tech giants must be there going “bless” (if they even noticed).   

Parents who give their kids smartphones are culpable of putting grave harm in their children’s way. Smartphones with 24/7 access to the internet are addictive, especially to young brains. Yet this is what we have decided to do – endanger young people with an addictive technology smuggled into their pockets. 

In this brave new world, may Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s manifesto catch on (“We’ve treated a generation of children now at school with carelessness”, 13 June). May families be present with each other: reading, laughing, debating, creating, watching a good movie. Don’t be worried about the smartphone makers, there’s plenty of adults left in the room for them to sell to. 

Alison Hackett, Dún Laoghaire, Ireland

Your “Manifesto for children”, 14 June, refers to the “luck” of those children read to from an early age. Sure Start helped many with this and life skills, but was scrapped.

Many parents communicate less with their very young children because of mobile phone and tablet use. No wonder our children grow up wanting to do the same. Put those things away. Talk to your children, build vocabulary and teach them to communicate and interact in person.

Joan Tebbutt, Morpeth, Northumberland 

Your excellent piece on Fishergate Primary School (How York’s ‘school of sanctuary’ welcomes asylum seekers and refugees, 11 June) shines a light of hope in a dismal period when Elon Musk, so-called “Tommy Robinson” and others are constantly grabbing the attention of the press by stirring up hatred and violence. “Our moral responsibility is to grow a generation of children who’re kind and compassionate”. Indeed, and to ensure that as adults they remain so!

Kate Dobson, Oxford

Kenan Malik’s anxiety regarding the challenge to civil liberties in Mr Justice Johnson’s sentencing of four Palestine activists is well founded (“Sentencing the Palestine activists for terrorism places civil liberties in grave peril”, 14 June). Behind Johnson stands Yvette Cooper who, as home secretary, decided to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. She could have taken a far softer approach. 

Fifteen years after the Bushel case of 1670, to which Malik refers, Judge Jeffreys handed down death sentences to over 100 of those caught up in the Monmouth Rebellion, itself a protest against James II seeking to turn the Protestant kingdom into a Catholic one. It was a mandatory sentence but King James could have extended clemency. He chose not to. Clemency might have averted his overthrow three years later.

Today’s government could seek clemency for these protesters. If, as expected, the International Court of Justice rules that genocide has been committed in Gaza, those responsible for assisting this crime may be at risk of prosecution as complicit accessories. Articles III(e) and VI of the United Nations’ genocide convention require their prosecution. In which case the crimes of the convicted four will be both exonerated and eclipsed by those of Keir Starmer, David Lammy and Yvette Cooper.

David McDowall, Richmond, London 

Jude Rogers (BBC Radio Scotland’s great shake-up is a big turn-off, June 6) asks what remit we’re meeting by making shows that sound largely the same.

This might have been a reasonable question, but for one fundamental flaw. A look at Radio Scotland’s schedule shows that, far from producing samey shows, we have – alongside speech-based output – an impressively broad musical offer.

It varies from the recently launched Roddy Hart’s Mix Tape, which champions Scotland’s emerging and established talent, to BBC Introducing in Scotland , Another Country, Take the Floor, Vic Galloway, Piping Sounds, The Quay Sessions, and Travelling Folk.

We also maintain significant commitments through initiatives including Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year, Young Scottish Classical Musician of the Year and BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year.

We agree with your columnist’s view on this point – the best radio is about “genuine connection, which isn’t served by samey music, or less sparky personalities”.  That’s why we have such a diversity of voices and genres available on-air.

Luke McCullough, Corporate Affairs Director, BBC Scotland, Glasgow

Lemn Sissay, walking around his childhood town of Ashton-in-Makerfield, is a “real fan” of Andy Burnham ( The Observer Walk, 14 June). Sissay would be an ideal candidate to replace him as the mayor of Greater Manchester. Passion, intelligence, integrity and empathy, all displayed in this interview. 

Jude Carr, London SE7

I always read The Observer backwards, for reasons I won’t bore you with. Having got past the threats from AI (especially to my unemployed child), past the global lack of truth, past Palestine and past Musk, Steve Bloomfield’s reasons to be optimistic in 2026 (News, 14 June) almost had me weeping with relief. Thank you, Steve.

Alison Carter, Lindfield, West Sussex

William Boyd states David Hockney is “no less than our English Picasso”, 14 June. I beg to differ, he was “our Yorkshire Hockney”!

Peter Robinson, Watlington, Oxfordshire

Photograph by Maxim Konanjov/NurPhoto via Getty Images