Burstow backs Bill to block child porn on Internet

3.28.56pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 10th Nov 2005

Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Burstow is again at the forefront of a cross-party campaign to introduce new laws to fight child pornography on the Internet.

Paul Burstow MP is co-sponsor of a Ten Minute Rule Bill that will pressure Internet companies to do more in the fight against Child porn which has been developed in conjunction with children's charities and the Internet Service Providers Association.

This technology developed by BT is known as Cleenfeed and has been live for 18 months.

The Bill will force Internet companies to state publicly whether or not they use new technology to block child porn sites. By blocking access to these sites criminals will be cut off from their market and will be forced to stop producing such images, protecting children from rape and child abuse.

Paul Burstow has consistently campaigned for greater protection for children on the Internet, and played a leading role getting Internet grooming of children banned as part of the Sexual Offences Act (2003).

Paul Burstow MP says:

"We should remember that each image on these websites represents a serious case of child abuse. This is a bill is a great chance to make a positive step towards a safer Internet."

"Blocking these sites is a vital step in the crack down on child abuse. I encourage other Internet service providers, and other mobile phone companies to follow suit without delay."

ENDS.

Notes to editors

1. The Control of Internet Access (Child Pornography) Bill was presented to Parliament on 26th October 2005.

2. Paul Burstow has campaigned consistently for greater protection for children on the Internet. And ever since the Patrick Green case - an Internet paedophile sentenced to 5 years in prison after attacking a Sutton schoolgirl he groomed on an Internet chat room he has been pressing the Government on this issue.

3. In 2001 Paul Burstow MP asked the Prime Minister in Parliament:

Mr. Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): Last year, a paedophile used a teenage Internet chat room to approach a 12-year-old girl in my constituency. He groomed her online to entice her to an offline meeting for sexual purposes. As many as one in five children who use Internet chat rooms are approached by paedophiles in that way. Will the Prime Minister take steps to review the law to ensure that such online grooming is a criminal offence and bring pressure to bear on Internet service providers, so that they offer parents chat-free services and all our children can be protected?

The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. I am informed by the Home Secretary that earlier today he had a meeting on that very subject. We are actively considering doing what the hon. Gentleman has just suggested. Perhaps when our deliberations have finished I can contact him and tell him the result of that. "

(Transcript from Prime Minister's Question Time, 28 February 2001).

Two weeks later Tony Blair set up a Government Internet taskforce, and Paul Burstow was the only opposition MP to be invited to be a member. The taskforce was instrumental in getting grooming banned in the Sexual Offences Act.

4. Paul Burstow tabled an early day motion in Parliament on 21 July 2004 which gained 55 signatures from Members of all political parties. The text of the motion read: -

That this House congratulates British Telecom and Vodafone for taking measures to limit access to child pornography on their services; notes the success of the British Telecom Clean Feed system, which blocks up to 20,000 attempts a day to view websites featuring child pornography; further notes that such schemes are an important method of tackling child pornography and child abuse; calls upon the Home Office task force on child protection on the Internet to work with other Internet service providers to encourage them to introduce similar schemes; and calls on other telecommunications companies to follow Vodafone's lead in the mobile Internet field.