Keir Starmer was today condemned for 'rushing' a social media ban for under-16s amid claims he is hunting for a 'legacy' from his time in Downing Street.The embattled Prime Minister – whose days in power appear numbered amid the looming threat of a leadership challenge from Andy Burnham – unveiled sweeping reforms to protect children online, with the measures dubbed an 'Australia plus' package.Britain will follow Australia's example in raising the minimum age to 16 for sites such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Snapchat.But the crackdown is set to go further than Australia's by taking 'world leading' action on gaming and live-streaming platforms so strangers will not be able to contact children.The restrictions will be required to be switched on by default for children up to 17. And the Government is also looking at potential overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s.Further action will see so-called AI 'romantic companion' chatbots – designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay with users – having to enforce a minimum age of 18, while there will also be age restrictions on AI chatbots more widely.Encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal will not be included in the UK's ban.Speaking in Downing Street this morning, Sir Keir said it was clear to him that 'a full ban is the right choice' following a Government consultation on possible measures.But Ian Russell - the father of 14-year-old Molly Russell who took her own life in 2017 after viewing online content about suicide and self-harm - told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'I can't help but think that this is just a rush job when it's come to online safety.'Mr Russell had previously warned it would be 'deplorable' if the process of introducing new social media restrictions had been sped up for political reasons, with Sir Keir under huge pressure to introduce a ban from Labour MPs.Tory leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed Sir Keir's announcement of a social media ban for under-16s, although she said it is 'not perfect'.'If the imperfect social media ban is his legacy, I think that says a lot about the Prime Minister,' she added. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill questioned the timing of the announcement of a social media ban for under-16s.She queried whether the move was 'about internal Labour Party politics as opposed to the right thing'. Keir Starmer has announced a social media ban for under-16s amid claims he is hunting for a 'legacy' from his time in Downing Street Sir Keir's action comes as he faces up to the prospect of being challenged for the Labour leadership by Andy Burnham as soon as this week Ian Russell - the father of 14-year-old Molly Russell who took her own life in 2017 after viewing online content about suicide and self-harm - accused the PM of a 'rush job'Mr Russell said the idea of a social media ban for children sounded 'comforting', but added: 'If you look at the evidence, the experts, not me, the experts and the people who have worked in this field and other organisations... loads of people, not just in this country, around the world, they all say it won't work.'If you look at what's happening in Australia, over 60 per cent of 13 to 15 year olds who shouldn't be online because of the ban there are still online.'So it's a really ineffective way of doing this properly, and you leave those people in danger if you leave them online.'Mr Russell called for the Government to instead take stronger action against social media platforms themselves over harmful content, rather than ban children from sites.'I wish we would be able to look back at a landmark moment today in terms of online safety, but I absolutely fear that, as in fact, weeks, it won't take long for this to start unravelling,' he added.'We wouldn't allow a car on the road in this country if it didn't comply with our safety standards.'So, what you have to do to define those safety standards, not just for social media, media, or a small selection of social media platforms, but for all digital technologies.'If they want access to the population of the UK, they have to comply with our safety standards.'Mr Russell's criticism came after Sir Keir used a press conference on Monday morning to set out the Government's intent to bring a social media ban into force by spring next year.'Every parent can see it with their own eyes,' the PM, a father of two, said.'Social media is making children unhappy. It's making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health.'He added: 'It's designed to be addictive, of course it is. Features like the infinite scroll, they're designed to lock you in for hours, and if nothing else, there's an opportunity cost to that.'It stops children doing their homework, reading, playing with their friends outside, going to bed at a decent hour.'Sir Keir's action comes as he faces up to the prospect of being challenged for the Labour leadership as soon as this week.Mr Burnham , the Greater Manchester mayor, is now said to be preparing an 'immediate' attempt to oust the PM if he wins the Makerfield by-election on Thursday.Polling has shown Mr Burnham is on course to win in Makerfield this week, which would see him return to the House of Commons and allow him to mount a leadership challenge.Mr Burnham's stiffest challenge at Thursday's by-election is expected to come from Reform UK, as Nigel Farage's party looks to add a ninth MP to its growing ranks.But Reform is being hampered by the decision of Restore Britain, the hard-Right rival set up by ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe, to also stand in the constituency.A recent survey by of Makerfield voters by More In Common and UCL Policy Lab found Mr Burnham of 45 per cent support - ahead of Reform's Robert Kenyon on 40 per cent.Mr Burnham's five-point lead was smaller than the 8 per cent share for Restore candidate Rebecca Shepherd.The poll confirmed fears among Reform figures that Restore is eating into its vote in the Greater Manchester constituency.A separate survey, by Convergent Research, suggested Mr Burnham has a 12-point lead in the contest, on 49 per cent support with Mr Kenyon on 37 per cent. Opinion is notoriously hard to sample accurately at constituency level.Mr Burnham's allies were previously thought to favour 'going long' by waiting until later in the year - after Labour's conference in Liverpool in September - to launch a coup bid against Sir Keir.But the PM's defence spending meltdown last week, which saw the resignation of John Healey as defence secretary and Al Carns as Armed Forces minister, is said to have shifted their thinking.One source told The Times: 'They now want to go as soon as possible and are even considering saying on by-election night, 'we're going to challenge for prime minister'.'Another said: 'Like in any campaign there have been disagreements over the strategy and what the best approach is. But everything changed on Thursday.'There was genuine shock... when the news notifications came through that Healey had resigned.'Sir Keir has warned Mr Burnham - and other potential challengers such as Wes Streeting - against the 'chaos' of a leadership contest.He has also vowed to 'fight' any challenge against him, saying: 'I'm not going to walk away from this.'Speaking at the press conference on Monday morning as he announced a social media ban for under-16s, Sir Keir hailed 'a big moment for our country'.The PM said he would not compromise on the 'safety and happiness of our children'. He added he was confident the ban can be effective, but acknowledged some children would find their way around it.The measure is expected to come into force by early next year, while the Government said it would go even further - if necessary - to protect children online.Sir Keir denied suggestions that his announcement was part of a scramble for a legacy from his time as PM, saying: 'This is a huge issue for the country, this isn't about any one individual.'It is something which people in this room have been concerned about living with and campaigned about for years, and I think we do them, and all those who've been concerned about this, a disservice to try to put that into a particular week when there's a by-election, actually, that's not what it's about. 'This is a statement of our values, who we are as a country. And it's a way of actually bringing our country together, so for me this is bigger than some of the usual to and fros of politics, although there's plenty of that.'Sir Keir also signalled he is ready for a fight with Donald Trump, who he is due to meet later on Monday at the G7 summit in France, over the issue.The US President has previously lashed out at UK efforts to regulate American tech giants.The PM said: 'This is about fighting for what we think is right; and I think that protecting children is right.'I do not accept and I will never accept that you can't be both pro-tech and pro-AI and, at the same time, say we must protect our children.'Asked about children finding a way around the ban, Sir Keir: 'That is what kids do, they try to get around all of the laws that we put in place to protect them.'Teenagers drink before they should, but we do not then say, 'in which case let us abandon any attempt to stop them buying alcohol', we say 'let's improve the enforcement of what we're doing'.'It's exactly the same in this field. I'm not going to stand here and say from the moment we are putting these laws into force, no child would have access to social media.'Of course, I'm not going to say that, but I do believe it's the right thing to do. I do believe we can enforce it.'I think we'll be better at enforcing it, actually, having learned from the Australian model, and having learned from our own experience with the Online Safety Act.'A public consultation on potential social media restrictions for children, which closed on May 26, received about 116,000 responses, making it the second-largest in history.More than 83 per cent of parents who responded said social media risks outweigh the benefits for children – with 91 per cent backing a minimum age of 16 before platforms can offer their services to children.Almost two thirds (62 per cent) of children who responded said restricting the high-risk features would make them safer online.But 72 per cent also said they were worried about feeling left out if restrictions came in. Speaking at a press conference on Monday morning as he announced the new restrictions on social media, Sir Keir hailed 'a big moment for our country' Sir Keir tried to deny his announcement was part of a scramble for a legacy from his time as PM, saying: 'This is a huge issue for the country, this isn't about any one individual'