A father of a girl who has committed suicide accuses Instagram of having "helped kill his daughter"

A father accused Instagram of "helping" to kill his daughter after his tragic suicide at 14 years old.

Ian Russell claims that his daughter Molly has been viewing images glorifying self-harm on the social media website prior to her death.

The teenager was found dead after returning from school and her storage bag for the next day.

She left a note saying, "I'm sorry, I did it because of me."

Molly, a student at Hatch End High School in Harrow, Middlebad, had begun to look like she was sitting in uncomfortable positions without her family 's knowledge.

It was only after her death in 2017 that her parents understood what she was doing.

His father said that many were on accounts of depressed or suicidal people.

He described as "shocking" some of the content that said "link self harm to suicide".

One of them, he said, featured the image of a blindfolded girl, apparently with bleeding eyes, holding a teddy bear.

It contained a legend that said, "This world is so cruel, and I do not want to see it anymore"

He told the Daily Mail, "I do not doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter, she had so much to offer and left."

Speaking to the BBC, "" Much of this content was rather positive. Perhaps groups of people trying to help each other find ways to stay positive and stop hurting themselves.

"But some of these contents are shocking to the extent that they encourage self harm, they link self-harm to suicide and I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter.

"The publications on these sites are so often in black and white that they are fatalistic.

"[They say] there is no hope, join our club, you are depressed, I am depressed, we are many, enter this virtual club. "

Mirror Online has approached Instagram to comment.

A spokesperson told the Mail: "Our thoughts are with Molly's family and all those who are dealing with the issues raised.

"We do not allow content that encourages or glorifies eating disorders, self-harm or suicide and we are working hard to remove them.

"However, for many young people, discussing their mental health journey or making contact with others who have already faced similar problems is an important part of their recovery.

"That's why we do not remove certain content and instead offer support to people who view or view it when they need it most."

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