While politicians debate whether Starmer is 'appeasing' big tech firms over online safety, a different kind of safety crisis is unfolding behind prison walls. The number of deaths in custody stuck in bureaucratic limbo has exploded.

In 2023, just 10 prison deaths were classified as 'awaiting further information'. By 2024, that number hit 45. That's a 350% surge in cases where families don't know how their loved ones died. (Source: Ministry of Justice, Safety in Custody -- Deaths_in_prison_custody_1978_to_2024_accessible -- Table_1_1)

Here's how we got to this point. For years, prison death investigations followed a predictable pattern. Most cases were quickly categorised: natural causes, suicide, or the rare homicide. The 'awaiting further information' category existed for edge cases that needed extra time.

Something changed in 2024. The backlog didn't just grow; it quadrupled. These aren't statistical abstractions. Each represents a family waiting for answers, a coroner's investigation delayed, a prison death that happened months ago with no clear explanation.

The timeline tells the story of a system under pressure. In the 2010s, this category rarely hit double digits. Even during Covid, when prison deaths spiked, most cases were resolved quickly. The virus was an obvious culprit.

But 2024 brought something different. Prison populations are rising. Staff shortages are biting. Healthcare provision is stretched. The result? When someone dies, the investigation machinery can't keep up.

What makes this surge particularly troubling is its timing. While ministers spend parliamentary time debating how to regulate social media platforms, the most vulnerable people in state custody are dying without explanation. The contrast couldn't be starker: endless column inches about online harms, parliamentary silence about deaths behind bars.

This isn't about political point-scoring. Prison deaths matter regardless of who's in government. But the 45 families currently waiting for answers deserve the same urgency politicians show when discussing tech regulation.

The Ministry of Justice tracks these numbers for a reason. When deaths can't be quickly explained, it suggests systemic problems: inadequate medical care, understaffing, or conditions that make deaths more likely. A 350% increase in unexplained cases should trigger alarm bells.

Instead, it's buried in spreadsheets while the political class argues about algorithms. The irony is obvious: we're debating hypothetical online harms while ignoring actual deaths in government custody. Those 45 cases represent real people whose final moments remain a mystery to those who loved them.