Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make it an offence to harass the victims of terror attacks.

This Government is determined to make sure that victims of terrorism receive the support they deserve. Victims of terrorism are provided with practical and emotional support from specialist service providers, enabling them to cope with the immediate impact of a terrorist attack and to recover from the longer-term consequences.

No victim should ever have to face harassment after experiencing trauma. The Government is determined to do everything possible to protect all victims of harassment and stop perpetrators at the earliest opportunity. Anyone who thinks they are being harassed should report any incidents to the police.

In addition, under the online safety bill, any company whose services host user-generated content (those which allow users to post their own content online or interact with each other), and search engines, will need to proactively remove and prevent users from encountering the most serious and prevalent illegal content - including content relating to harassment and stalking offences. They will need to swiftly take down any illegal content where they become aware of it. Users will be better able to report abuse, and should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform.