Miliband calls for payday loan TV ads to children to be banned

Adverts for payday loans should be banned during children's TV programmes, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.

Writing in the Sun on Sunday newspaper, Mr Miliband criticised payday lenders who "target" children through advertising.

He said a Labour government would urge the advertising watchdog to introduce a ban. If that did not work, Labour would use legislation, Mr Miliband said.

His comments come in a week which saw payday lenders quizzed by MPs.

Mr Miliband told the BBC payday lenders were spending hundreds of thousands of pounds advertising during children's TV programmes.

'Bad for families'

"As a father of two young boys, I know how influenced they can be by what they see and I don't want payday lenders taking advantage of the cost of living crisis and targeting children in this country," he said.

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“Start Quote

The idea that payday lenders are putting pressure on our kids to pester their parents is just wrong”

Ed MilibandLabour leader

"I think it's wrong, it's not what should be happening and that's why a Labour government would stop them advertising during children's TV, because it's bad for young people, it's bad for families and it's bad for communities."

Mr Miliband said it was "just wrong" that payday lenders were "putting pressure on our kids to pester their parents".

He compared advertising by payday lenders to that of junk food and gambling, which are both banned during TV programmes aimed at children.

He added: "That's why we'll be asking the Advertising Standards Authority to act on irresponsible advertising that's targeting young children by payday lenders and if they don't sort it out, we will through legislation."

'Pain and misery'

A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the government was already cracking down on irresponsible payday lenders to protect consumers.

She said two "misleading" payday loan adverts had been banned in the last six months.

"New rules will also force payday loan adverts to include risk warnings and information about where the public can access free and confidential debt advice," she added.

Mr Miliband's stance was supported by the creator of the MoneySavingExpert.com website, Martin Lewis.

Mr Lewis said a survey of parents conducted by MoneySavingExpert.com suggested that 30% of children under 10 are repeating advertising slogans from payday loans companies.

Financial journalist Martin Lewis said payday loans caused people "pain and misery"

"We've been calling for a ban on payday loans on children's TV," he said.

"The risk is they effectively groom a new generation of children, normalising, legitimising and mainstreaming this dangerous type of niche borrowing."

He added: "Marketing is at the core of these loans, which cause many people pain and misery.

"They're slick, fast, efficient technological plays, the crack cocaine of lending that have created a market that didn't really exist five years ago - and sadly our lack of regulation means they thrive here while other countries have far more effective controls."

In a speech earlier this week, Mr Miliband criticised what he called Britain's "Wonga economy", saying that the rise of payday lenders symbolised the squeeze on living standards facing millions of families.

That came on the same day that representatives from the payday lending firms Wonga, QuickQuid and Mr Lender were questioned MPs on the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee.

The companies defended their business practices, saying they aim to lend to people who can pay them back.

Wonga's chief operating officer Niall Wass told BBC's Newsnight its business practices have been misrepresented and the vast majority of its customers are happy.

(Credit; BBC)

What to do if the News upsets you.

Some stories reported by Newsround can make you feel sad - but you are not the only one and it's OK to have those feelings.

Upsetting events often make the news because they don't happen very often.

This section gives you some tips about what to do if you are feeling sad about what you've seen, heard or read.

Newsround has spoken to some experts who deal with children to help you cope with your feelings.

Tips if you are worried.

You can rely on Newsround to tell you the important facts about a story - but some things you hear might be a bit scary or make you feel worried.

Remember that worrying stories are often in the news because they are rare - they don't happen very often.

It is incredibly unlikely that what you're reading about or watching might happen near you.

Discuss the stories with your parents or friends, or chat about it on the Newsround message board. You'll feel better that you're not the only one worried.

You could also talk to your teacher about it - maybe you could have a class discussion which would help you understand the issue better.

(Credit; CBBC)

Design a new Dr Who sonic gadget.

Fancy yourself as a Dr Who designer?

Blue Peter is giving Dr Who fans the chance to create a brand new gadget to be used in the new series.

It's asking for a sonic gadget for either Sontaran Commander Strax, Madame Vastra or Jenny Flint.

The competition is open to anyone aged between six and 15 years old.

The winning design will feature in episode of the the sci-fi drama to be filmed later this year.

The judges for the competition include Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat, and CBBC presenter Chris Johnson - a massive Dr Who fan himself.

There will be three age categories for entries. They are; six to eight years, nine to 11 years and 12 to 15 years.

The winning designer will be invited to see their device in action on the set of the Doctor Who, while the three runners up will receive prizes for their work.

The competition will be launched in a Blue Peter Doctor Who special on Thursday 21 November at 5.30pm, with winners announced on the Blue Peter Christmas special on Thursday 19 December.

(Credit; CBBC)

How Secure is your password? 
Tips for good passwords.

Last month, big software company Adobe had their computer systems hacked - and many millions of users' passwords were revealed.

Researchers looking at the passwords found that many of them were really easy to guess - making it easy for criminals to get into people's accounts.

The Adobe leak showed almost 2 million people had the simple password "123456" for their accounts.

The second most popular was "123456789" and the third most popular was simply "password".

Common password mistakes

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Adobe users' 10 most-used passwords

• 123456
• 123456789
• password
• adobe123
• 12345678
• qwerty
• 1234567
• 111111
• photoshop

James Lyne, from IT security company Sophos, says this is the first of two common mistakes people use when choosing passwords.

If your password's really easy to guess, it makes a hacker's job much easier, meaning they can access your account and could lock you out - or even worse, steal stuff.

Another common mistake, says James, is when people use the same password across all their different online accounts - so if a hacker guesses it, they can get into everything.

Top tips: Choosing the best password

James says:

• Don't choose a single word, like "password" - choose acombination or phrase instead.
• Adding numbers or symbols can really make a difference too: "ilovenewsround123" is a much stronger password than "newsround".
• A good method is to think of your favourite song lyric - which makes your password much longer and really hard to guess.
• It's also important to use a different password on each website, instead of recycling the same one again and again.

Prince Harry joined the Duke of Edinburgh on his annual visit to Westminster Abbey's Field of Remembrance.

The field remembers those killed during the First and Second World Wars.

The prince and his grandfather each laid a Cross of Remembrance in front of two wooden crosses from the graves of unknown British soldiers.

The Last Post was played followed by a two-minute silence, before the royals then met with war veterans.

This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, when at 11am people all across Britain hold a two minute silence to remember the millions who have died in war.

Guide: What is Remembrance Day?

Meanwhile the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined poppy sellers at a London Tube station today.

William and Kate travelled on an old-fashioned London bus to High Street Kensington station where they met military personnel and volunteers supporting London Poppy Day.

(Credit; CBBC Newsround)

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New dinosaur discovered in America called King of Gore.

A new super-predator dinosaur that roamed the Earth 80 million years ago has been discovered in southern Utah in America.

It was closely related to its slightly larger relative,Tyrannosaurus rex, but it lived earlier, making it the largest living land predator of its time.

A full-grown adult would have been 30 feet (9m) long - about the size of a double decker bus!

It's been named Lythronax argestes which means "king of gore".

Randall Irmis, one of the team who discovered the dino, said: "It's always exciting to find new species but what's really significant is what these species tell us about their ancient world,"

"This was a very different place 80 million years ago. It was a very lush, wet, tropical environment and there were no polar ice caps at the time."

Tyrannosaurid dinosaurs

• Lythronax belongs to a group of carnivorous dinosaurs called Tyrannosaurids, the same group as the T. rex

• They are the greatest carnivores - Though not the largest to walk the earth.

• Lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, between 95-70 million years ago

• The new find lived on a strip of land called Laramidia in western North America

• This same area was home to a range of species such as the the horned and duck billed dinosaurs

• Recently an unusual new species of horned dinosaur with a big nose was also discovered in the area. Article written by CBBC.

London's Olympic Park, the Royal Wedding and the Tour de France have been recreated in Lego, along with other famous scenes and landmarks.

'Seventy-two models, including many famous buildings, are on display in a new exhibition in Scotland' CBBC news reports.

'All of the models at the exhibition in Paisley are created by Edinburgh artist, Warren Elsmore.

Mr Elsmore used to work in IT, but is now a full-time Lego artist. The exhibition took him two years to make.

"I started in the same way as everyone else, when I was three or four, getting Lego sets for Christmas and building them", he said.

All of the models in the exhibition are created from ordinary rectangular bricks: the bricks are not glued together and nothing is custom made.

The curved roof of St Pancras station is created by the tension of the bricks. If they are placed at the right angle, they form a curve.

Mr Elsmore had a tour of the clock tower at St Pancras station, which helped him build the structure.

"I got right inside the clock tower which gives you a real sense of how the building fits together", he said.

There will be a section of the exhibition where visitors can build themselves.

Craig Elliot from Renfrewshire Museums said: "It's not just going to be about looking, there will be a hands-on section of the exhibition where they can make something of their own, or contribute to making a local landmark..."

Mr Elsmore said that when the exhibition closes, the Lego models are packed up very carefully, put into boxes and will sit in a warehouse... until the next time.

The 72 models on display all feature in his book Brick City, which demonstrates how he made the structures.'

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