Online safety bill returns to parliament after five-month delay

Flagship internet regulation has survived four PMs, shifting its focus to child protection and free speech

The online safety bill, the government's flagship internet regulation, returns to parliament on Monday, after a five-month delay prompted by Conservative party factional warfare threatened to kill it off.

The bill was postponed until after the summer recess in July in order to make room for Boris Johnson's unusual decision to call a confidence vote in his own government, and its return has since been put back multiple times. An anticipated revival in late October was delayed to December, while this week's return will not see the bill progress rapidly through parliament, the digital minister Paul Scully has said, as it will instead be sent back to committee stage for deeper scrutiny.