Bereaved families of online suicide harm victims have reacted with anger after being told that no one will be prosecuted in England and Wales for British deaths linked to Kenneth Law.
Law pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide during a court appearance in Ontario, Canada, on May 29, the Press Association reported, but none of those charges relate to victims from the UK.
The decision, coming just weeks after the Government refused a public inquiry, leaves no forum in this country to examine how an estimated 130 deaths were allowed to happen.
The Crown Prosecution Service and the National Crime Agency confirmed to families in correspondence on 28 May that the harm caused to victims in England and Wales will instead be addressed through Kenneth Law’s sentencing in Canada, rather than through a prosecution in the United Kingdom.
The authorities cited the risk that Mr Law could not be extradited, the likelihood of years of delay, and their assessment that a Canadian sentence would be similar to one that could be imposed here. The practical effect is that no criminal court in this country will hold anyone to account for the British deaths connected to the case.
In 2025, The Mirror joined forces with the Molly Rose Foundation for a three-part documentary series to call for action on suicide forums. Bereaved families and a survivor spoke to the newspaper about the harms that the one forum through which Law operated caused.
David Parfett, father of Tom, told the Mirror that his son live-blogged his own death on the site, while Adele and Ozlem Walton detailed how their sister and daughter spent her last days in a hotel with a stranger.
Mr Law, a former Ontario chef at the centre of an international investigation into an online suicide forum, is linked to the deaths of an estimated 130 British people. He is due to appear at a public hearing in Newmarket, Ontario, on 29 May, where he is expected to plead guilty to charges of aiding suicide and to admit sending products internationally in the knowledge that they were likely to be used to end lives. He will not be tried for murder, and sentencing is expected later this year.
Families have been told that an Agreed Statement of Facts to be placed before the Canadian court on 29 May will state that Mr Law sent 330 products to the United Kingdom, drawn from records held by Canada Post and PayPal.
The decision follows the Government’s March refusal of a statutory public inquiry, which was rejected on the grounds that existing measures were adequate. Campaigners say that the two decisions, taken together, mean there is now no forum of any kind in the United Kingdom in which these deaths, or the conduct of the Government departments and agencies responsible for online safety, will be examined.
The decision comes amid continuing evidence that existing measures are not working. On 13 May, Ofcom imposed a £950,000 penalty on the operator of an online suicide forum, its first investigation and the largest fine to date under the Online Safety Act, yet the forum remains reachable by UK users through mirror domains.
An investigation by CTV News’ flagship programme W5 confirmed this month that a Kyiv-based supplier of the substance involved, first publicly identified by the BBC in March 2024, is still operating and shipping internationally. Coroners’ data provided to the programme indicated that deaths fell after Mr Law’s arrest, but did not stop.
Families campaigning for a UK statutory public inquiry into online suicide harms have condemned the move. Journalist and campaigner Adele Zeynep Walton, whose sister Aimee took her own life in 2022 after using an online forum that encourages people to end their lives, said: "Today, bereaved families have been told that no one will be prosecuted in England and Wales for the deaths of our loved ones. In March, the Government refused us a statutory public inquiry. Now we are told there will be no UK prosecution either. In a matter of weeks, both doors have been shut."
"My sister Aimee was one of the people whose loss sits behind these figures. This is not about wanting anyone to escape justice — the man who sold these products will be sentenced in Canada, and I respect that process. But he has been linked to at least 130 deaths in this country, and no one here will be prosecuted for a single one of them."
"What message does that send to every other predator who preys on vulnerable people online — that the United Kingdom will not act, even on this scale? The question for our own country is simpler still: who here will examine how the British state let this happen, and what it will do so that no other family goes through it? A foreign sentencing hearing cannot answer that. Only a statutory public inquiry can."
David Parfett, founder of the Thomas William Parfett Foundation, whose son Thomas died, said: "I am angry, but I am not surprised. For months, we have been told that the system is working and that existing measures are enough. They are not. If our own country will not put anyone on trial for these deaths, the very least it can do is hold a proper inquiry into how they were allowed to happen."
Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation, said: "Bereaved families have been campaigning tirelessly to hold Kenneth Law to account in the UK and to be told he will not be prosecuted here on the eve of his court case in Canada is a bitter blow. Families up and down the country have been impacted by Law’s crimes and should have the right to full justice in the UK."
Merry Varney, Partner at Leigh Day, who represents several bereaved families affected by Law, said: "The families I represent have now been told two things by the British state in quick succession: that there will be no public inquiry, and that there will be no domestic prosecution. The effect is that the only examination of many of these deaths will take place in a Canadian sentencing court, concerned, rightly, with the conduct of one individual, and not with the conduct of the UK Government and its agencies."
"That leaves a clear and troubling gap. Whether the State has met its duty to protect life, and whether existing measures are adequate, has not been answered by anyone. Inquests into individual deaths rarely consider these issues, with some concluded with no mention of the role of Kenneth Law in the person’s death. A statutory public inquiry remains the only forum capable of answering it, and the Government’s refusal should now be reconsidered in light of today’s decision."
A statement from the National Crime Agency read: "Including UK cases in Law’s conviction and sentencing was not an option available to us at the start of our investigation. For three years we have been working on gathering sufficient evidence from 45 police forces and internationally to support the extradition of Law to face justice in the UK. Following recent legal advice it was decided that including Law’s UK offending in his Canadian sentencing was the right course of action to secure justice for victims and families here."
"Victims and families have been at the heart of all decision making and our thoughts remain with them. We recognise this has been a long and complex investigation and we thank them for their patience. We also want to acknowledge the profound loss families have suffered and we recognise every family’s experience and loss is unique."
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
