PM predicted voter anger over rise of porn

JOHN MAJOR predicted that the Conservatives would never be forgiven by the public if they failed to act on the rise of pornography.

He warned in November 1993 that explicit material was now widely available and his government had not done enough to stop it.

A precis of a policy unit awayday, released by the National Archives, lays bare the frustration of the then prime minister and Tory leader as he tried to clean up Britain’s cultural life.

Existing proposals to tackle indecent images of children were described by Mr Major as “pathetic”, and he was said to be “frustrated at being told there was no way to tackle violent videos”.

A note prepared by Mary Francis, a Downing Street aide, showed Mr Major suggesting the 9pm watershed had become “obsolescent in the age of time-shifting video recording”.

The briefing added: “The prime minister

‘The prime minister said he was still not satisfied and people would ask why the government had not acted’

said he was still not satisfied that the Government was doing enough.

“In a few years’ time when the public saw violent and pornographic material readily available they would ask why the government had not acted.”

“He was not convinced by arguments this was just a matter of personal responsibility. He believed this area should be followed up.”

Files relating to a similar policy unit awayday in July 1993 showed there had been concerns about the erosion of the watershed for some time. One notes the emerging popularity of satellite and cable channels which “did not observe the terrestrial watershed”.

It was suggested that the government “might push the ITC (regulator the Independent Television Commission) on more restrictions on the encrypted channels and might use the legislation to renew the BBC Charter to introduce more general regulatory broadcasting legislation”.