Sir Keir Starmer says banning phones in schools is "not necessary" and instead there is an "emerging battle" to ensure that the content children are consuming online is "suitable for their age". His comments come as the Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch tells the prime minister at PMQs, "teachers and headteachers say the evidence already shows that schools that ban phones get better results". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00Why did Labour MPs vote against banning phones in schools last week?
00:04Prime Minister, because it's completely unnecessary.
00:10I've got teenage children. Almost every school bans phones in school.
00:15They do it already.
00:17We need to concentrate on what's really important here,
00:19which is getting to the content that children shouldn't be accessing.
00:23That's where I would genuinely like to work across the House,
00:27because I think there's a huge amount of work to do.
00:30But the battle is not with schools that are already banning phones in school.
00:35The battle, and this is an important emerging battle,
00:38is to work together to ensure that we can ensure that the content
00:41that children are accessing, wherever they are, is suitable for their age.
00:48Mr Speaker, we can look at the content, but if the ban is unnecessary,
00:52then why is it that they've started a review?
00:55Just last week, his Education Secretary called a ban a gimmick,
00:59yet teachers and headteachers say the evidence already shows
01:02that schools that ban phones get better results.
01:05And he's wrong. Not all schools do this.
01:08Only one in ten schools are smartphone-free.
01:11So will he U-turn on this?
01:13We need to ensure that all schools do this, but the vast majority do.
01:19Look, it is really important that we focus on the battle we have to have with mobile phones,
01:25which is the content that children are able to access.