RESTRICTIONS on child access to social media could help prevent future murders like that of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey, her mother said today.

Esther Ghey told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “We’d like a law introduced so that there are mobile phones that are only suitable for under-16s.”

She is launching a petition to press the demand.

“So if you’re over 16, you can have an adult phone, but then under the age of 16, you can have a children’s phone, which will not have all of the social media apps that are out there now.

“Also to have software that is automatically downloaded on the parents’ phone which links to the children’s phone, that can highlight key words.”

Sixteen-year-old Brianna was murdered by 15-year-olds Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe on February 11 last year. The pair were handed life sentences with minimum terms of 22 and 20 years behind bars on Friday.

Ms Jenkinson — whom the judge described as having a “deep desire to kill” — had watched videos of torture and murder online.

Esther Ghey said if the searches made by Brianna’s killers had been flagged, their parents might have been “able to get some kind of help.”

Police ruled out transphobia as a motive because the killers had discussed multiple potential victims who were not trans, but sentencing judge Mrs Justice Yip said Mr Ratcliffe had expressed transphobic views towards the victim.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the Online Safety Act already included age-related verification checks for inappropriate material.

Phones which restrict both content and the amount of time spent online by children have already been introduced in China, following a debate on negative social impacts of internet addiction.

As in Britain, however, critics say such online monitoring can be used for political censorship.