Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the number of cases brought under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 regarding video cassettes which were (a) heard before magistrates and (b) tried at Crown court; and if he will name the film titles in respect of each successful prosecution.
Mr. MellorThe information collected centrally on prosecutions under this Act does not distinguish separately offences involving video cassettes and does not record the titles of video cassettes in respect of which successful prosecutions have been brought. Records available to us for 1982, which may be incomplete, of proceedings under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 show that 282 defendants were proceeded against summarily in magistrates' courts, of whom 121 were found guilty, and that of the 257 defendants who appears for trial at the Crown court, 113 were found guilty.