UK Government agrees to ban step-relative pornography in face of rebellion

The UK Government has agreed to ban so-called “barely legal” pornography depicting sexual relationships between step-relatives after it faced a rebellion over the issue and a defeat in the Lords.

The move marks a significant climb down, as ministers had previously suggested a ban would be difficult because relationships between adult step relatives are not necessarily illegal in real life.

Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, who led a review into pornography regulation published last year, tabled an amendment in the Lords last month calling for step-incest to be included in a ban on harmful content.

It was backed by 144 votes to 143 in the House of Lords, and left the Government facing a potential Commons rebellion by disgruntled Labour MPs if they tried to overturn the measure.

In an update on Friday, the Ministry of Justice said possession and publication of pornography showing incest between family members, and sex between step or foster relations where one person is pretending to be under-18, will be criminalised.

Publishing the banned material will carry a maximum penalty of between two and five years’ imprisonment, depending on the type of content.

Responding to the decision, Baroness Bertin said she welcomed the Government’s move to ban such “deeply harmful” content.

“I greatly welcome the Government’s plans to fully address harmful pornographic content such as incest, step-incest and the mimicking of child sexual abuse,” she said.

“This content that is freely and widely available online is deeply harmful, normalising child sexual abuse and abusive relationships within families.

“Today the Government has answered our calls for change, and I am delighted that once again the UK is leading the way on regulating this high harm industry.”

The Government has already criminalised pornography which shows women being choked after a review found such images are rife on websites and have helped to establish it as a sexual norm.

Minister for victims and tackling violence against girls, Alex Davies-Jones, said: “I’ve sadly heard far too many devastating stories from victims and I know we need change now.

“Tackling violence against women and girls within a decade will take every single one of us.

“We have been clear that vile online pornography has real-life consequences for all of us and I’d like to thank every brave campaigner who has worked with us to deliver this vital step.

“Today we are sending a powerful message: we will stamp out misogynistic and harmful content online and create a safer world.”

It comes as ministers moved to make tech bosses personally liable if their platforms fail to remove intimate images of people shared without their consent.

In new Government plans, senior executives without a reasonable excuse could face imprisonment or a fine or both if their companies fail to comply with Ofcom’s enforcement decisions to remove non-consensual intimate images.

The Government has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to this effect, which will be debated in the House of Commons next week.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Too many women have had their lives shattered by having their intimate images shared online without consent.

“This Government is uncompromising in our mission to protect women and girls online, and we have taken action to stop tech firms from publishing this abusive content.

“In February, we told platforms that they must remove reported non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours.

“Now we are going further by introducing measures meaning that senior tech executives could be criminally liable if their companies fail to act when required to do so by Ofcom.

“Protecting women and girls online is not optional, it is a responsibility that sits squarely with every tech company’s leadership.”