Guildford’s MP Presses Starmer Following Tragic Suicide of Hannah, 22

Published on: 8 Mar, 2026
Updated on: 12 Mar, 2026

By Cristina Trujillo

Kier Starmer has responded in the Commons to a call by Guildford’s MP for greater regulations on buying lethal poison online.

Zöe Franklin, Liberal Democrat MP, raised the subject at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (March 4) after the tragic suicide by poison of 22-year-old Hannah Aitken, from Guildford.

Starmer responded briefly after the MP pushed him on the government’s response to Hannah’s death.

Franklin pressed him on the government’s need to address coroners’ reports on preventable deaths and learn lessons from cases like Hannah’s.

Keir Starmer in the Commons: “The government is working on it.”

Starmer thanked her and reassured her that the government was working on it.

Afterwards Franklin commented on Starmer’s brief reply: “This is not good enough. I am hugely disappointed by the Prime Minister’s vague response to my question.

“Needless deaths can be prevented. The Government has a duty to act. I will continue to keep the pressure on the Government to take coroners’ recommendations seriously.”

She added: “Coroners have warned the Government about the increasing use of this substance for self-harm, and there is still no central monitoring system to record incidents of poisoning involving this substance.”

In the Commons, Franklin had asked the PM what steps the Government would take to ensure systematic oversight of coroners’ reports and their findings, and if he would support proposals for an independent National Oversight Mechanism.

The Molly Rose Foundation, established after the suicide of 14-year-old Molly Russell and committed to ending preventable harm to young people online, offered a comment: “Multiple red flags have been missed.

“We continue to lose young and vulnerable lives. A National Oversight Mechanism, an independent body with the necessary powers to investigate these deaths and join up dots, should be introduced urgently.”

The organisation said this would ensure that institutions act on coroners’ concerns, ultimately stopping future entirely preventable deaths.

Suicides attributable to the poison consumed by Hannah, and a pro-suicide forum that promotes it, have increased in the UK since 2019, with at least 135 lives lost and coroners raising concerns 65 times.

Zöe Franklin was concerned about this trend, citing a lack of evidence of government action, despite Starmer’s claims that it was making progress.

Hannah’s suicide was addressed in an inquest where Surrey assistant coroner Anna Loxton expressed concerns about the lack of measures in place to prevent people from buying and importing the highly toxic substance used by Hannah with no regulation.

In November 2024, Loxton issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, containing specific recommendations on how the poison, which Hannah imported from overseas, could be better regulated.

The Samaritans have commented: “When life is difficult, Samaritans are here to listen – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call us for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org”.