Independent audit report of the National Safeguarding Team
The first independent audit of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) was published on the 5 May 2026.

The audit was carried out by the INEQE Safeguarding Group and commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council, following a recommendation from the National Director of Safeguarding. It assesses the work of the NST against the National Safeguarding Standards.

The report highlights areas of good practice as well as identifying 66 recommendations for further improvement. Some of these relate to the wider Church’s safeguarding structures, while others are specific to the NST.

Areas of good practice

The audit recognises that the NST has undergone significant transformation in recent years and is now a professional national function focused on improving safeguarding practice across the Church of England.

It highlights a strong internal culture, supported by confident leadership and a senior team with a wide range of expertise. Staff reported feeling able to raise concerns and contribute to ongoing development.

The report recognises the significance of the development of the National Safeguarding Standards. These now shape policy, training, supervision and day-to-day practice in churches and cathedrals:

“The National Safeguarding Standards establish a critical framework that constitutes good safeguarding practice. The NST defined and built this collective understanding to support parishes, dioceses, and cathedrals locally in developing a consistent, high-quality approach to safeguarding practice and culture.”

The audit also commends the NST’s shift towards safeguarding based on evidence and information, and it states that the casework team’s triage system functions well.

“The audit saw evidence of good practice by the NST, with caseworkers effectively receiving referrals, collating information and analysing cases. There was evidence of escalation to senior managers as appropriate, swift triage and allocations being accompanied by a written brief from the casework manager.”

Recommendations and next steps

The audit identifies several areas where further work is needed to strengthen safeguarding arrangements. These include:

• improving communication around survivor participation
• strengthening feedback mechanisms with dioceses and cathedrals
• clarifying the circumstances in which the National Director of Safeguarding can intervene in local cases
• developing specialist HR safeguarding expertise
• ensuring resilience and contingency planning for case management systems
• further developing national safeguarding training and learning infrastructure

The NST will now consider the recommendations in detail and set out how these will be taken forward.

If you or anyone you are in contact with is affected by the publication of this report and would like to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.

Alternatively, you may wish to contact the National Safeguarding Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Charity and International Aid

Safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in the international aid: FCDO progress report 2024 to 2025
Since 2018 the UK has led in advocating improved global standards and performance on safeguarding against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH) in the international aid sector. This included hosting an international safeguarding summit in 2018. View the outcome summary from the summit.

The UK government’s work on SEAH is designed to protect vulnerable individuals and to ensure the integrity of Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend.

This progress report summarises the FCDO’s (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), work from December 2024 to December 2025 to improve global standards and performance on SEAH and meet the 2018 donor commitments.

The report also summarises progress by the FCDO and other UK government departments in meeting the objectives of the 2020 UK strategy: safeguarding against SEAH within the aid sector.

Office for Product and Safety Standards (OPSS)

Asbestos in consumer products: Guidance for consumers and businesses on consumer products containing asbestos.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is aware of consumer products available in the UK containing sand contaminated with asbestos. These products have been recalled by the businesses that have sold them, and OPSS also expects any further asbestos-contaminated products to be recalled. To ensure their safe disposal, consumers and businesses should follow the advice below.

Consumer advice
Contaminated products that have been identified and are subject to recalls are listed on this OPSS Product Safety Alerts, Reports and Recalls page.

If you have purchased a product on this page, please check the recall notice for the business’s advice on returning or disposing of the product safely. For further information, or questions, contact the retailer you purchased the product from.

If you have concerns about a product that you think might contain asbestos but has not been recalled:

• In England and Wales, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service.
• In Scotland, contact the Advice Direct Scotland consumer helpline.

Disposal guidance for consumers
Businesses should be accepting recalled products at their stores. It is both legal and safe to dispose of these products in household waste if you are not able to return products to store. Please use the following instructions for safe disposal of contaminated products:

• Stop using the product immediately.
• If the sand is still in its packaging, place in a heavy-duty plastic bag, double tape it securely, label it clearly and store in a secure location out of the reach of children.
• If the sand has been used or exposed, clean up sites where the product was used using wet cloths to avoid generating dust. Wear gloves and a mask. Double bag the sand, gloves, mask and cloths.
• Keep children and other people away from areas where the sand has been used until the area has been cleaned.
• Return the product to the store specified by the retailer, who will provide a full refund. If you are unable to, or your product was purchased via an online marketplace, dispose of the product in your general household residual waste.
• For further information, or questions, contact the retailer you purchased from.

Health information
There is no safe level of asbestos in consumer products, though asbestos that is bound within intact products is less harmful than asbestos fibres that are airborne and are small enough to be breathed in. Where asbestos is identified, a product recall is appropriate.

If you or your family have used one of the products containing asbestos listed on the OPSS Product Safety Alerts, Reports and Recalls page, stop using it immediately, as this is the most important step to prevent any ongoing exposure, and follow the recall advice.
Further information can be found at: Asbestos: general information.

Ofcom and all Online Safety

1. Tech firms commit to stronger anti-grooming measures in response to Ofcom demands
Children in the UK will be better protected from harm as some of the largest and most popular sites and apps agree to introduce significant new anti-grooming measures in response to Ofcom’s public call for action.
Snap, Meta and Roblox have confirmed to the regulator that they will bring in new safety measures designed to better protect children from online strangers who wish them harm - ranging from tighter default settings for children’s contacts and friendship groups, to AI detection tools and direct chat controls.

These new commitments are included in a report, published on 21 May, which confirms how major platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snap, TikTok and YouTube – have responded to Ofcom’s demands in March to urgently strengthen protections for children online.

Under the new commitments secured for UK users, children’s safety will be considered upfront by platforms before new features are rolled out to them. In response to our call to end product-testing on children, five of the services have committed to notify the regulator whenever they update their risk assessments before making significant changes to their services – going above and beyond their duties under the Online Safety Act. This will ensure that Ofcom is aware of new products and features before they launch, allowing us an opportunity to scrutinise any adverse impact on children.

Ofcom’s public scrutiny of these six online services will continue under the five-point action plan. They will continue to drive change by:
1. Monitoring the implementation of services’ new commitments to ensure they work in practice to better protect children.
2. Continuing to review evidence on recommender feeds and explore whether to use new inspection powers, with a further update in July.
3. Launching enforcement action where we have grounds to suspect non-compliance with the Online Safety Act.
4. Continuing to monitor the real-world experiences of children online through world-class research.
5. Engaging with Government on the outcome of its consultation so that enforcement of minimum age policies under online safety laws can be strengthened where needed.

2. Immaterialism partners with IWF to boost fight to stop spread of child sexual abuse material online
Immaterialism will be among the first registrars to receive the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)’s dedicated Registrar Alerts.

The UK-based domain name registrar has joined the IWF to help stop the spread of child sexual abuse images and videos online. Use of the new Registrar Alerts will enable even faster action when harmful domains are identified.

Immaterialism provides domain registration services with a focus on fairness, transparency and user protection. Drawing on a blend of technology, openness and a commitment to building a better internet, Immaterialism works to offer customers a balanced and responsible service across the domains it manages.

Online safety sits at the heart of Immaterialism – teams actively monitor for suspicious or abusive domain registrations, taking swift action when services are being misused. This includes shutting down domains linked to scams or any attempt to facilitate the distribution of child sexual abuse online. The new partnership with the IWF reinforces this proactive work and reflects a joint belief that safeguarding children is a shared responsibility across the internet ecosystem.

3. NCA launches initiative with banks to stop criminals who livestream child sexual abuseBanks could provide critical intervention to stop UK offenders who pay for livestreamed child sexual abuse overseas, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

For the first time, the NCA has worked with financial institutions, through their Public Private Partnerships unit, to show how banks can identify possible child sexual abuse (CSA) livestreaming payments and help law enforcement to stop the ongoing abuse of a child.

With the UK as one of the worst offenders for facilitating child abuse through livestreaming overseas, the NCA has been sharing real case examples and live investigations with private sector members to identify and understand patterns of behaviour and transaction history.

On Monday 18 May, at an event held in partnership with Natwest Group, the NCA’s Director General (Threats) Steve Rodhouse launched an alert for financial institutions to highlight this offending, encouraging them to build processes to detect livestreaming payments on their platforms.

The event encouraged banks to proactively detect potential child sexual abuse offenders through their financial patterns, investigate transactions they believe could be funding livestreamed child sexual abuse, and help law enforcement in monitoring Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs).

These often include restrictions on the number of bank accounts held, bans on international money transfers or travel abroad. This type of initiative demonstrates how everyone - including industry - has a role to play in protecting children, but also an example of how the NCA will explore every opportunity to disrupt offenders and bring them before the courts.

1. £12.4 million boost to modernise foster care
New fund aims to make fostering more accessible and support more people to become carers, as part of wider drive to create 10,000 new foster places.

Thousands more children and young people will benefit from stable, loving homes as the government launches a new £12.4 million Fostering Innovation Fund to make foster care more accessible and inclusive across England.

The Fund will help fostering around modern lifestyles and household structures, by updating models of foster care, which set out how care should be delivered.

For too long, foster care has been provided on the assumption that people need to be in traditional, married relationships with only one carer working full time to be successful. The Department for Education reforms aim to attract a younger and more diverse mixture of carers as well as improving the experience of fostering for existing carers.

The new fund will support the modernisation of the foster care system, enabling more flexibility in how care is provided, without compromising on safeguarding standards. Fostering helps to give vulnerable young people the best possible start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

The funding will be allocated to Regional Care Co-operatives and fostering hubs, which are operated by Local Authorities. They will be collaborating with a range of partners, potentially including children’s charities and commercial providers to develop and trial innovative new models of foster care.

2. Overseas child marriage leads to Nottingham conviction
A husband and wife from Nottingham have been given a suspended sentence after arranging for taking two boys under 18 to Pakistan to be married.

The defendants, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, took the boys to Pakistan when they were 17 with the specific purpose of finding them someone to marry. One of the boys refused a proposed match, but another was paired with a local girl and was married in a Nikah ceremony.

Police were alerted to the marriage following a referral from the young person’s place of education.
The couple at first denied that they had been seeking marriages, but pleaded guilty to carrying out conduct to cause a child under 18 to enter a marriage on 17 February.

They were, on 15 May, sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to two months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 100 hours' unpaid work.

The defendants took the two victims abroad to Pakistan to arrange the marriages, with one of them actually taking place. The legislation in England and Wales is in place to protect children and young people who live in this country, regardless of whether they are taken overseas for marriages to be arranged. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 increasing the minimum age for marriage to 18 came into force in 2023 and introduced an offence of carrying out conduct to cause anyone under 18 to enter into a marriage. The defendants claimed they were not aware of this legislation.

1. Man jailed for multiple sexual abuse offences involving seven children
A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to 23 years after being convicted of multiple sexual abuse offences involving seven children.

Jamie Beckett, from Wakefield, was arrested in December 2022 by National Crime Agency officers after receiving intelligence from international partners.
Further work by NCA investigators revealed links between a PayPal account, Gmail account and mobile number which were attributed to Beckett.

Beckett exploited the facilitator and victims' financial situation by offering cash for medical appointments, electricity and wifi in exchange for images and videos of child abuse. The payments ranged from as little as £6.20 to a maximum of £187 per request.

Online records revealed that between June 2020 and June 2022, Beckett had exchanged 9,493 messages, 356 media files and approximately 39 calls with the facilitator.

Beckett, a telecommunications engineer by profession, would provide specific instructions of what he wanted the facilitator to do to the victims. When the bespoke content did not meet his criteria, he withheld payment until new media was supplied which he was satisfied with.

Beckett pleaded guilty to 25 charges at Leeds Crown Court in February 2026. He was sentenced to 23 years at the same court Friday 1 May, 16 years custodial and seven years on license. Beckett will be on the sex offenders' register for life and be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

2. Extremist who threatened prom shooting jailed
An Army Cadet who threatened to ‘ruin prom’ and had bomb-making videos and a terrorist manual has been sentenced to four years and six months for terrorism, stalking offences and making indecent images of children.
Dihan Rahman, 19, was driven by extremist ideologies and had incel, misogynistic, pro-ISIS and extreme right-wing material.

He was the administrator of the far-right wing Strumjäger Group on encrypted messaging app Telegram and had frequently expressed antisemitic views, including to one of his victims who had Jewish ancestry.
Rahman’s actions began after he moved school, was romantically rejected by a girl, and began his misogynistic campaign against women.

He would go on to stalk the girl who rejected him and her friend, doxxing their details to encourage harassment online, he would visit locations he knew they would be and tried to discover their locations from others.

After he posted pictures on social media, tagged to the location of the prom, of a WW2 German Soldier holding a gun and saying he was ‘going to ruin prom’ the event was forced into moving for security reasons.

There is no evidence to suggest he planned or considered an attack; however extra security was added to the prom once the venue had changed.

When the girls reported his behaviour to the school, Rahman’s phone was confiscated by a teacher, who saw images of him dressed in army uniform with the words ‘kill yourself’ and another of Dihan in a headscarf with the caption ‘who’s in for a Valentines school shooting’.

He pleaded guilty to the stalking and making indecent images of a child before trial, and possession of terrorist material after his trial began.

3. Man subjected partner to four months of abuse
A man who assaulted his partner numerous times and smashed up her home has been jailed.
Liam Thrower, 32, turned up at the woman’s house in Arbury, Cambridge, at about 6.10am on 2 November last year and punched her as well as taking her phone and house keys.

He also tackled her to the floor and put his arm over her mouth but the victim managed to escape and hide in a bin store until officers arrived.

On Friday, 1 May, at Cambridge Crown Court, Thrower, of no fixed address, was jailed for 22 weeks, having pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal damage, three counts of assault by beating and one count of common assault.

4. The mother and boyfriend sentenced to total of 27 years following death of young son
A mother and her boyfriend have been sentenced to a total of 27 years following the death her young son Kol Page after a Met Police investigation uncovered a raft of evidence to prove they brutally assaulted him.
Detectives saw through the lies told by Zoe Coutts and Scott O'Connor as they blamed the toddler's horrific injuries on his 'clumsiness', before turning on each other in a final effort to avoid justice.

Two-year-old Kol was found by the London Ambulance Service on Monday, 25 April 2022 not breathing, with bruises over his face and a serious injury to his abdomen, caused by a stamp or punch.

He bravely lived on for two more years, before dying aged just four years and three months on Saturday, 29 June, 2024.

Met homicide detectives analysed thousands of messages between Kol's family, CCTV of his killers' movements and carried out extensive interviews to prove that the injuries came about while he was in the care of Coutts and O'Connor.

The couple were convicted on Wednesday, 25 March at Southwark Crown Court following a four-week trial. They were sentenced on Friday, 8 May.

• Coutts, 35 (11.05.1990), of Crayford, was convicted of allowing the death of a child. She was sentenced to nine years and 109 days in jail.
• O'Connor, 36 (02.02.1990),of Whinchat Road, Thamesmead, was convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to an 18-year custodial sentence with a five-year extended sentence.

In a victim impact statement, Kol's foster parents described how he was so badly injured they initially moved into the hospital to look after him. They said that he loved seeing the emotional support dog and bought him guinea pigs after seeing how he responded to them sitting in his lap.

5. Former imam jailed for sexually abusing seven women and girls
A former imam who carried out a sustained campaign of sexual abuse against women and girls over more than a decade has been jailed.
Abdul Halim Khan, 54, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum term of 20 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday 14 May.

He was convicted of 21 offences, including rape, sexual assault and child sexual offences, against seven women and Khan was an imam at a mosque in east London and used his position as a trusted religious leader within the community to gain access to his victims and manipulate them.

He arranged meetings in isolated locations, and even their own homes, where he sexually abused victims under the false pretence of being possessed or disguised as a jinn (supernatural spirit).

Victims were led to believe that harm would come to them or their families through so-called black magic if they reported the abuse, leaving them feeling unable to come forward for years.

During the investigation, further victims were identified after the initial reports were made.

Prosecutors worked closely with the Metropolitan Police to build a case spanning more than a decade of offending.

To support the jury’s understanding of complex evidence involving spiritual beliefs - including references to jinn and black magic, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) instructed a cultural expert to provide essential context central to the case.

Special measures were put in place to support the victims to give their best evidence, including pre-recorded cross-examination in advance of the trial.

The CPS has established a dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to prosecute complex and challenging cases like this, sharing specialist understanding, helping to build strong cases and increase the number of successful prosecutions.

6. Child abuser jailed after fake disability unmasked
A child abuser who attempted to evade justice by faking severe illness has been sentenced after the Crown Prosecution Service and police combined to prove he was lying about his condition.
John Siddell, 41, from Ashington in Northumberland, abused three young boys under the age of 14 between 2018 and 2021 while he was living in Leicestershire.

The boys, supported by family members, came forward to report the abuse in 2022. Siddell, aided by his brother James, presented in his police interviews as unable to walk or talk. He implied he had suffered a stroke and could therefore not have committed the offences due to his disability.

Siddell continued to present at court and at appointments to assess his fitness to take part in court proceedings in this way, eventually persuading court professionals that he was unfit to take part in a trial.

As is normal in these circumstances, the court heard the evidence in a fact finding hearing and a jury determined on the basis of the evidence from the victims that Siddell had committed the abuse against the victims.

The CPS prosecutor in the case and the detective in charge of the investigations were suspicious of Siddell’s claims, so the CPS offered to provide the court with an additional report to assist with the conclusion of the case.

This report revealed that Siddell was faking his disability and that James Siddell was complicit in the deception.

The CPS reinstated criminal proceedings in relation to the abuse. After investigations by Leicestershire and Northumbria police forces into their claims that Siddell was disabled, the CPS charged both John and James Siddell with perverting the course of justice.

At a trial at Leicester Crown Court, John Siddell was found guilty of the sexual abuse and both were convicted of perverting the course of justice. At Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday 12 May, John Siddell was sentenced to a total of 15 years imprisonment with an extended licence of two years and James Siddell sentenced to 33 months imprisonment. John Siddell was made the subject of a 20-year sexual harm prevention order.

7. Three teenage boys sentenced after two girls raped in separate attacks
Three teenage boys were sentenced on 21 May after they were convicted of a knife-point rape and other serious sexual offences against two teenage girls in Hampshire.
The boys, who were aged 13, 14 and 14 at the time of the offences, cannot be named for legal reasons.
During a five-week trial at Southampton Crown Court which resulted in their convictions on 5 March 2026, jurors heard that the victims, aged 14 and 15 at the time, were attacked in separate incidents less than two months apart and were physically overpowered. The girls did not know one another.

In January 2025, a 14 year old girl was assaulted after becoming separated from her friends. She was threatened with a knife and forced to leave her mobile phone and AirTag in a shop so that her movements could not be tracked, before being taken to a secluded area.

Two defendants took it in turns to rape the victim while the others encouraged the offending and filmed the assaults. The defendants left the scene when they believed they had been disturbed. The victim was later found distressed and reported the incident to police.

Forensic evidence supported the victim’s account, including damage to her trousers consistent with the use of a sharp instrument.

The investigation later identified a second victim, aged 15, who was raped in November 2024 by two of the same defendants, both aged 14 at the time.

The court heard that the victim had met one of the defendants online and travelled alone to meet him. They were later joined by another boy and taken to an underpass, where she was raped by both of them.

On 21 May at Southampton Crown Court, Boy A, from Hampshire, who was convicted of two counts of rape and count of taking indecent images of a child, has been sentenced to a three-year youth rehabilitation order.

Boy B, from Dorset, who was convicted of six counts of rape, has been sentenced to a three-year youth rehabilitation order.

Boy C, from Hampshire, who was convicted of two counts of rape, has been sentenced to an 18-month youth rehabilitation order.

Whenever a rape or serious sexual offence case involves a child suspect, it is reviewed by a prosecutor with expertise in both rape and youth offending.

Also

Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on the sentencing in the Fordingbridge rape case 24 May 2026
In response to the news regarding the recent rape case, which was also published on this website Friday 22 May 2026.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said:

“The rape of two teenage girls in Fordingbridge is deeply disturbing and has shocked people across the country. My thoughts are first and foremost with the two girls and their families, who have shown extraordinary courage in speaking out about these heinous crimes.’’

8. Jail for man who sexually assaulted care home residents
A care worker has been sentenced to a lengthy jail term after repeatedly sexually assaulting two vulnerable residents under his supervision.

In 2025, staff had grown increasingly concerned about David Jones’s behaviour towards certain residents. One colleague noted that Jones would visit one resident far more frequently than required, while neglecting to check on others in his care. On Wednesday 5 February 2025, Jones was working a night shift alongside two colleagues at a care facility in east Kent.

At around 3am, staff who were concerned for the welfare of the resident, followed Jones to the victim’s room. When they opened the door, they found him acting indecently towards the resident. He was immediately confronted and instructed to leave the room, and the victim was placed into the care of other staff members.

Staff reported the incident to Kent Police and officers attended Jones’s home address in Herne Bay, less than 24 hours later. They arrested him on suspicion of engaging in sexual activity with a person without consent. During the arrest, he was searched and a mobile phone was seized.

Investigators downloaded the content and uncovered multiple photos and videos of a sexual nature involving a second victim. Officers conducted a number of lines of enquiry and established that the images were taken during times Jones was on duty at the care home.

Evidence found on the phone concluded that the material strongly indicated the victim had been seriously sexually assaulted.

In addition to the images of the elderly victim, officers also discovered hundreds of indecent images of children.

The 53-year-old was later charged with multiple sexual offences including the possession of incident images of children. He pleaded guilty to all charges and on Friday 22 May 2026, at Canterbury Crown Court, he was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment.

NCSC: Leave passwords in the past - passkeys are the futurePasskeys should now be consumers’ first choice of login across all digital services, the UK government’s technical authority on cyber security has announced.

Overhauling decades of security practice, the National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – has taken the decision to no longer recommend individuals use passwords where passkeys are available because passwords lack the relative resilience to modern cyber threats.

Passkeys are a newer method for logging into online accounts which do much of the heavy lifting for users, only requiring user approval rather than needing to input a password. This makes passkeys quicker and easier to use and harder for cyber attackers to compromise.

A new technical report, published on Day Two of CYBERUK – the UK government’s flagship cyber security event in Glasgow, shows that passkeys are at least as secure as, and generally more secure than, pairing the strongest password with two-step verification (2SV).

The majority of cyber harms to individuals start with criminals stealing or compromising login details, making the adoption of passkeys a huge leap in boosting the UK’s resilience to phishing attacks.

A number of popular online service providers already support passkeys, including Google, eBay and PayPal – and new data from Google shows the UK already lead global adoption of passkeys, with just over 50% of active Google services users in the UK having one registered.

The NCSC stopped short of endorsing the adoption of passkeys last year due to some key implementation challenges. However, progress within industry means they can now be recommended to the public as the more secure and user-friendly login method and to businesses as the default authentication option to offer consumers.

Where a particular service does not support passkeys, the NCSC’s advice to consumers is to use a password manager to create stronger passwords and keep using two-step verification.

Making passkeys the default authentication recommendation is a critical step towards revolutionising the way individuals use and access their online identities.

The key benefits include:

• Easy to use:
  Fast, frictionless passkey logins can be completed up to eight times faster than signing in with a username, password and two step verification code.
• Harder to compromise:
  Passkeys are highly resistant to phishing attacks and cannot be intercepted, reused or guessed like passwords can.
• Reduced password fatigue:
  Users no longer need to meet additional requirements, such as creating complex passwords – or even remembering them at all. This prevents weak points and patterns developing across a user’s online presence.
• Security that pays off:
  Safety and savings can go hand in hand for online service providers that make passkeys available for customers, replacing SMS-based verification systems which incur additional costs.

Last year, the UK government announced it would roll out passkey technology for its digital services as an alternative to the current SMS-based verification system, offering a more secure and cost-effective solution that could save several million pounds annually.