Jay Slater’s mother demands new law to stop online troll abuse
Jay Slater’s mother has stepped up her campaign for new legislation to tackle online trolls.
Debbie Duncan has won the support of local Labor MP Sarah Smith to introduce “Jay’s Law” to prevent bereaved families from being abused.
Ms Duncan’s 19-year-old son, Jay Slater, died after going missing in Tenerife in June 2024.
The Lancashire man had taken drugs and alcohol on a night out and attempted the 14-hour walk back to his villa the next morning.
His body was found in a steep valley almost a month later.
Mr. Slater’s disappearance sparked a massive manhunt and many conspiracy theories surrounding his death.
An inquest in late 2024 concluded that his death from head trauma was accidental. He concluded that he lost his footing and fell into the valley.
Mrs Duncan said Mirror: “I’ve been accused of all sorts; they say we know why he went to Tenerife and that he was going to be involved in drug dealing.
“That we covered up his murder, that the whole thing was a setup, that the GoFundMe was fake, and that he would resurface.
“One creator even said: ‘How do you know it’s Jay in the coffin? It needs digging.’
“It hurts. They don’t know our family or anything about us, but they’re allowed to say whatever they want.”
It calls for a new law to better regulate social media.
Ms Duncan added: “The people who do this are hiding behind screens, but what they say has real consequences for real families. I’m campaigning for Jay’s Law because things need to change. Families must be allowed to grieve peacefully without being dragged into further pain.”
In September, Ms Duncan launched a formal Parliamentary petition demanding a new “Jay’s Law”, supported by local MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, Sarah Smith.
The two women are now working together to organize a cross-party meeting of MPs and ministers to discuss how Jay’s Law could be brought forward.
Labor MP Ms Smith said: “We cannot allow bereaved families to become targets of abuse and lies whenever tragedy strikes.”
The campaign comes as a Channel 4 documentary examines the problem of “tragedy trolling”.
in the name The Disappearance of Jay SlaterIt shows how the families of Nicola Bulley and Madeleine McCann have also been targeted by online speculation and trolls.
