§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government will review the Obscene Publications Act 1959, with specific reference to its definition of obscene. [35727]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyWe have no plans to review the Act.
Under the Obscene Publications Act 1959, an article is obscene if its effect is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all the relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
The existing test is flexible enough to be used in respect of all broadcast and published works, including material published via the internet. It also avoids potential conflict with wider principles of freedom of expression by requiring that the effects of the material on those who are exposed to it should be taken into account. Attempts to reach consensus on changes have been unsuccessful. The most recent of these was by the late Lord Halsbury in 1999 in another place, when he tried to replace the general test by a comprehensive list of proscribed material.