Dear Mr Hamilton

Thank you for your letter of 23rd November and copy of Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths. I can confirm that Sodium Nitrite (which is used extensively in meat curing, preservation and in numerous chemical processes) is no longer sold by Metalchem on eBay. We withdrew the listing immediately back in April 2020 when we became aware that it was being recommended on these dreadful suicide forums for young people – notably
– both of which are still sadly still active. I have also been in contact with the Home Office Protect team with regard to sales and processes:

Detective Inspector

CBRE Protect Team OSCT Home Office 5th Floor Peel 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF

I have since April proactively contacted a number of other sellers to request that they stop selling Sodium Nitrite NaNO2 (SN) online when clearly the reason for purchase cannot be reasonably ascertained. I have also enlisted the help of in removing a number of persistent sellers both on Ebay and then more recently this month on Etsy - and I regularly check these sites

Metalchem Limited 492 Falmer Road Brighton BN2 6LH East Sussex

Metalchem Limited. Registered in England & Wales. Company Registration Number 12271592. Registered Office 492 Falmer Road Brighton BN2 6LH, East Sussex.

As of today (when I have just checked) I am pleased to say that there are no listings for Sodium Nitrite on either eBay or Etsy . It is however still available on with shipping to United Kingdom. I will report this listing to as she has direct contacts in and is able to get these listings changed so they do not show that they ship to the UK Screenshot below:

Screenshot 27/11/2020

Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further help

Dear Mr Hamilton

Re Jason Thompson (deceased) – Sodium Nitrite

I refer to your Regulation 28 Report dated 20 November 2020, and to your letter dated 3 December 2020 in which you enclosed the response of Metalchem Limited regarding the death of Mr Jason Thompson.

May I first extend condolences on behalf of eBay to Mr Thompson’s relatives. This is indeed a very tragic case.

By way of background, in 2019 eBay took the voluntary decision to prohibit globally the sale of sodium nitrite as a chemical, after receiving a report of potential use of the substance for suicide attempts. In addition to updating our prohibited items policy, eBay updated its filters, which are used to help detect and prevent the listing for sale of this chemical.

To provide some context, eBay has approximately 1.6 billion listings live at any one time. It therefore relies on utilising a combination of technology and live reporting from both monitoring authorities and its users to help keep the marketplace as safe as practicable. Our expert internal safety teams work in cooperation with various regulators across the world and in the UK, including Westminster Trading Standards as our Prime Authority.

After we had received your first letter, our security team identified the listing from which Mr. Thompson purchased the sodium nitrite. The listing had already ended. In addition, the security team performed a sweep which revealed that no similar listings were found on our platform.

The listing was analysed in order to improve block filter algorithms. Since then, our security team did not find any further listings of sodium nitrite. As you have seen, this was also the finding of Metalchem Ltd in their letter to you dated 27 November 2020.

The nature of eBay means sellers create their own listing content. Therefore, although the filter algorithm technology is highly effective, it is sometimes possible for unscrupulous or unaware sellers to circumvent our policies and filters by utilising terminology that is not captured by the current filter rules. That is why we continuously update our filters to make sure they remain as effective as possible.

eBay also relies on a notice and takedown regime, where we are supported by members of the public who can flag individual listings or sellers that are breaching policy, as well as receiving intelligence from regulators such as Trading Standards and the Home Office.

EBAY (UK) LIMITED, REGISTERED IN ENGLAND AND WALES WITH NUMBER 03726028 EBAY (UK) LIMITED 1 MORE LONDON PLACE, LONDON, SE1 2AF T +44 (0)20 7951 2000 F +44 (0)20 7951 1345

It is worth clarifying that sodium nitrite does occur as a legal ingredient in other products, such as meat curing salts. These were highlighted in recent press articles as being available on eBay. The amount of sodium nitrite in such products, at about 6%, is a small proportion of the overall product compared to the amount of sodium chloride, which is itself injurious to health if consumed in large quantities. Furthermore, the emetic effects of sodium chloride means that ingesting large amounts of curing salts is likely to make an individual vomit. Therefore, after taking advice, we have concluded that curing salts can continue to be sold on the site.

However, please be assured that we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to keep abreast of developments and ensure that our policy prohibiting the sale of sodium nitrite as a chemical will continue to be enforced rigorously. As you will be aware, sodium nitrite in its pure form is still available for sale on the internet via other websites and platforms. We would therefore support stricter regulations restricting the online sale of sodium nitrite as a chemical in its pure form via the internet in order to prevent further such tragic cases in the future.

I am also copying this letter to the Secretary of State for Health.

Dear Mr Hamilton

Thank you for your letter of 20 November 2020 to Matt Hancock concerning the death of Jason Thompson. I am responding as Minister with responsibility for mental health and suicide prevention and I am grateful for the additional time in which to do so.

Firstly, I would like to say how deeply saddened I was to read of the troubling circumstances surrounding Mr Thompson’s death and I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones at this difficult time.

I note your concerns and those of the toxicologist in this case that information about suicide methods is so readily available on the Internet and that the means to assist suicide with this substance can be easily sourced and bought online.

I wish to assure you that suicide prevention is a priority for this Government and we are working across local and national government to reduce suicide rates so that fewer such tragedies occur each year.

We continue to take action to reduce suicide rates through the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England1 and the first Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Workplan2, which sets out an ambitious programme across national and local government and the NHS. The Workplan includes actions to reduce access to the means of suicide, including through harmful online content.

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-strategy-for-england

2

ational-suicide-prevention-strategy-workplan.pdf

I am advised that suicide prevention policy leads in the health system, at the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England (PHE), and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI), are alert to the risk posed by websites promoting suicide methods, and their direction on the use of certain chemicals in completing suicide, including the substance taken by Mr Thompson. These organisations, along with key stakeholders and academics, are looking at what data is available on suicides by this method and at what steps we can take to stop further loss of life by this method.

The concerns that Mr Thompson’s death raises sit within the policy remits of a range of Government departments, including the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) for its work on online harms; and the Home Office (HO) for its work on the sale of reportable substances3. Officials have shared your concerns with those Departments and are working with officials from those and other Government departments to explore what further steps we can take to prevent further tragedies, both for this chemical, and any other emerging methods.

There is work already taking place that directly and indirectly impacts some areas of concern. As you may be aware, in 2019, DCMS published its Online Harms White Paper4, which set out a range of legislative and non-legislative measures detailing how the Government is planning to tackle online harms, including harmful materials on self-harm and suicide.

On 15 December 2020, DCMS published its response to the White Paper consultation, setting out how the proposed legal duty of care on online companies will work in practice and gives them new responsibilities towards their users. DCMS also announced that the Government has asked the Law Commission to examine how criminal law will address the encouragement, assistance and incitement of self-harm.

In relation to your concerns about the chemical that Mr Thompson procured online, I understand that the HO has produced guidance for businesses on the sale of explosives precursors and poisons5. This includes the substance used in this case, which is a reportable poison under the Poisons Act 19726. This means that it is generally available to members of the public without the need for a licence, but sellers, including online sellers, are obligated to make suspicious transaction reports where they have grounds to believe that the sale is for an illicit use.

The HO regularly engages with suppliers to help them meet their requirements under the Poisons Act and provide detailed guidance in relation to any additional safeguarding steps they may wish to take. Generally online marketplaces maintain their own policies on

3 Guidance: supplying explosives precursors and posions

precursors-and-poison

4 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/online-harms-white-paper

5 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplying-explosives-precursors/supplying-explosives- precursors-and-poison

6 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/66

prohibited items, many of which will include a prohibition on the sale of poisons. It is the seller’s obligation to check that items they are listing are permitted by their own policies and to take any action where it is appropriate.

In addition to the cross-Government group set up to put in place steps to tackle emerging methods of suicide, officials at the Department of Health and Social Care have also invited HO officials to brief partners in NHSEI, PHE and suicide prevention stakeholders on what HO can do to ensure that sellers of these chemicals are aware of their potential use in suicide, and what can be done to get specialist support to those who might be at risk.

More generally, from 2019/20, we are investing £57million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan7. This will see investment in all areas of the country by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and establish suicide bereavement support services.

In addition, every local authority now has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place. We are working with local government to assure the effectiveness of those plans, and we invested almost £600,000 in 2019/20 to support local authorities to strengthen their plans.

Furthermore, PHE is piloting a national real-time surveillance system to monitor suspected suicide, by collecting early real time data which can be used to identify patterns of risk and causal factors, to inform national and local responses. HM Treasury has announced £1.2million funding to help support the development of the national system.

Finally, we know how crucial it is that information about a suicide is treated with the utmost sensitivity it deserves, not only for the bereaved families and communities, but also because reporting on the particulars of an individual suicide can lead to other people taking their life in similar ways, be that in the same location or by the same method. With this in mind, and with due respect to the Chief Coroner’s rights under the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 to publish this response, I wish to reiterate the need for us, as far as possible, to ensure the media practice caution when making public any facts or details relating to this method.

I hope this response is helpful. Thank you for bringing these concerns to my attention.

15 February 2021

NADINE DORRIES MINISTER OF STATE FOR PATIENT SAFETY, SUICIDE PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH

7 https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/