§ Ms Beverley HughesTo ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made by the G8 countries in preventing the international production and distribution of child pornography, with particular reference to the Internet; if this matter was considered at the Birmingham Summit; and if he will make a statement. [43951]
§ The Prime MinisterAt our summit in Birmingham last month, we agreed to implement rapidly the Principles and 10-point Action Plan against high-tech crime adopted by our Justice and Interior Ministers in Washington last December. Our governments are engaged in co-ordinated discussions with relevant industries in our countries, including Internet Service Providers, to develop better arrangements for obtaining electronic evidence of crimes and making it available to investigators and prosecutors in other jurisdictions. This will help us to combat a wide range of crimes including abuse of the Internet for the distribution of child pornography.
The UK has an absolute prohibition on the production, circulation and possession of child pornography and these stringent laws equally apply to the Internet.
The Government support the work of the Internet Watch Foundation which was established in September 1996 by Internet Service Providers primarily in response to growing concern about child pornography on the Internet. The Foundation passes all child pornography reports to the National Criminal Intelligence Service who route these to the relevant enforcement agency of the country concerned when the material appears to have originated outside the UK.
The UK Government are committed to tackling the problem of child pornography and will continue to support initiatives to curb this gross misuse of our computer networks.