Three Dads Walking: Suicide prevention lessons debate secured

Three men whose daughters took their own lives have secured a parliamentary debate into whether suicide prevention lessons should be mandatory in schools.

The 3 Dads Walking campaign saw them trek across the UK to raise awareness, as well as over £1m for charity.

Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen have since met Nick Fletcher MP, a member of the petitions committee.

The government has previously said that suicide prevention can be taught to age-appropriate children.

The three fathers want it to start early and become a compulsory part of the curriculum.

It comes after more than 150,000 people signed a petition, more than the 100,000 needed to allow the issue to be considered for a debate in Parliament.

The trio posted on their social media accounts that they had met with Mr Fletcher in Westminster on Thursday.

"He confirmed our petition to add suicide prevention to the school curriculum would be debated in Parliament. Date to be announced soon," it read.

It has since been confirmed that the debate will be held on 13 March.

Mr Airey from Morland in Cumbria, Mr Palmer from Sale in Greater Manchester and Mr Owen from Shouldham in Norfolk, first set off walking to each others' homes in 2021.

The men did not previously know each other and walked 300 miles (484km) in memory of their daughters Sophie, Beth and Emily in order to raise awareness.

Three dads, united by the loss of their daughters to suicide, set out to save young lives.

It took them 15 days to walk the route and they received endorsements from celebrities including Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman.

In 2022 they completed a 600-mile (965km) walk between all four UK parliaments, calling on politicians to make suicide prevention part of the school curriculum.

They were also honoured at the Pride of Britain Awards, where they accepted a special recognition award.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised you can visit the BBC's Action Line pages, or contact Samaritans.