UK ministers seek to allay WhatsApp and Signal concerns in encryption row

Government says text scanning under online safety bill would only occur if technically feasible' after apps threaten to leave country

Ministers have attempted to head off a threatened exodus of messaging apps from the UK by assuring tech firms they cannot be forced to scan encrypted texts indiscriminately for illegal content.

WhatsApp and Signal have threatened to quit the UK over a provision in the online safety bill that allows Ofcom to order a messaging service to use accredited technology" to look for and take down child sexual abuse material.