§ 19. Mr. Swinglerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in view of the exhibition by television authorities of X certificate films which the British Board of Film Censors has adjudged unsuitable for children, if he will now reconsider the question of an independent inquiry into the whole system of censorship.
§ Mr. VosperNo, Sir. My right hon. Friend remains as yet unconvinced that such an inquiry would serve a useful purpose.
§ Mr. SwinglerIn view of the accumulating evidence, would not the Minister of State reconsider that Answer? Is he aware that this is not only a question of violence and horror on the television screen, and the extraordinary anomaly of having X certificate films being put on the television screen, but of the whole situation of having a trade censor for the cinema, a feudal form of censorship for the theatre, and no form of censorship at all on television? Surely this situation should be reviewed for the guidance of citizens, and especially for the parents of young children?
§ Mr. VosperMy right hon. Friend did say to the hon. Gentleman on an earlier occasion that he would not ignore any representation made to him by the hon. Gentleman, or from any other quarter, on this Question, but he does not yet feel that an inquiry will be the right solution.