Morning:
3°c
Precious is a new-style weepie but one that is much more bracing than depressing
BBC accused of having a 'culture of secrecy' after it refused to reveal how much it pays its top presenters and stars
More...
Shocking films on sale on the high street after 20-year ban is reversed
Last updated at 13:37pm on 28.01.08Video nasties banned 20 years ago for graphic violence are back on sale, it emerged yesterday.
MPs have demanded an overhaul of the law after the British Board of Film Classification approved a group of previously outlawed films for general release on DVD.
The censors claim they are no longer harmful because of more relaxed modern attitudes towards extreme on-screen violence.
Among the films recently legalised is SS Experiment Camp, which has scenes simulating the rape, torture and incineration of Holocaust victims.
Others re-released after a ban was lifted are Snuff, based on the killings by Charles Manson's followers, and Driller Killer, which featured grisly scenes of a lunatic armed with a drill boring into the skulls of his victims.
They are now sold alongside family films in shops and on the internet.
Sue Clark, of the British Board of Film Classification, said that while they were tasteless, there was no evidence the films caused harm to viewers.
She added: "Times shift, attitudes change, and what was then problematic is not problematic now. In today's current climate we do not consider these films to be a concern."
But Julian Brazier, the Conservative MP for Canterbury, accused the board of failing to protect the public.
Scroll down for more ...
Graphic images: A scene from Snuff, which is based on the killings by Charles Manson's followers
He said: "We live in a country where half of all males think forced sex is justified under some circumstances and it's this - films like SS Experiment Camp - that glamorises the torture of women.
"This film may have an 18 certificate but in practice, whatever its classification, it will rapidly find its way into the hands of under-18s."
Mr Brazier plans to bring a private member's bill next month, supported by MPs of all parties, to make it easier to challenge the release of video nasties.
If passed, a motion by 50 MPs asking for a film's release to be reconsidered would trigger an instant appeal.
Reader views (3)
And at a stroke the press has now made these films best-sellers!
- Bob S, Lichfield, UK
All praise the mighty Bittorrent and it's ability to circumvent nanny-state censorship.
- Sarah, london
I do not understand why anyone is surprised at this in a country where McDonalds can award an A level in McDonalds management and where the prime minister can sign away a country without anyone batting an eyelid. A country that opens its doors to millions of immigrants whose numbers include many career criminals and do not care a hoot about this country or its laws. Third world Britain is a fact and you had better get used to it or leave.
- Stephen D., London England.
