Three Dads Walking meet prime minister in suicide prevention campaign

Three fathers who lost their daughters to suicide have met the prime minister as they continue their campaign for more mental health help in schools.

Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen, whose 3 Dads Walking campaign has seen them trek across the UK, are calling for suicide prevention lessons to be a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Rishi Sunak said he was "moved" to meet the men.

More mental health provision was being rolled out to schools, he added.

Mr Airey, from Morland in Cumbria, Mr Palmer, of Sale in Greater Manchester, and Mr Owen, from Shouldham in Norfolk, have raised more than £1m for charity with their walks.

Mr Sunak said their stories "struck a chord" with him as he has two young daughters.

"To have suffered the tragic losses that all of you have had, but then to channel that into raising awareness so that people know that there's somewhere that they can go and talk to, it's inspiring and you deserve enormous praise for that.

"One thing we are doing is rolling out more mental health provision in schools, we have the mental health grants so you can train a mental health professional in schools."

He also said that the government's priority was to get the Online Safety Bill through Parliament.

The bill would bring self-harm content in line with communications that encourage suicide, which is illegal.

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

In response, Mr Palmer said it was imperative attitudes were "proactive not just reactive" with "a standard across the board so all our kids benefit".

Mr Owen added: "When you talk to the mums and dads of 11-year-olds that have taken their own lives, we need to get to them quite early.

"We need to be talking about this because if we don't they'll look at it on their mobile phones and that's a whole world of hurt."

Mr Sunak agreed and said: "We need to be much more careful about what our young people are being exposed to online."

When the three dads started their first walking challenge 18 months ago, they had no idea they would end up in the garden of Number 10, talking to the prime minister.

Sitting beneath the blossom on a spring afternoon, they shared their personal stories, explaining why they want suicide prevention to be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum.

It is clear by simply being invited to Downing Street that their voices have been heard by those who have the power to make change.

All three of them say that, while they never chose to be in this position, they have to use it to stop others going through a similar, devastating experience.

The dads first set off their on their fundraising walks between each others' homes in 2021.

They did not previously know each other and hiked 300 miles (484km) in memory of their daughters Sophie, Beth and Emily.

Last year, they completed a 600-mile (965km) walk between all four UK parliaments, in their quest for change.

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