Reid urges EU crackdown on net child porn

He said the UK had already taken action but only a concerted European effort could rid websites of images of extreme violence and sexual abuse against children.

Mr Reid, speaking at talks in Brussels with his EU counterparts, was responding to concern from EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini about the "obscene cruelty" of psychological horror computer games available in Europe.

Mr Reid agreed violent video games were a danger - but he was particularly concerned about "extreme and harmful" child pornography on the internet.

In a letter to Mr Frattini ahead of today's meeting, Mr Reid said he had been concerned for some time about violence and explicit sex on the internet.

But there were voluntary classification schemes in some EU countries, including a "robust" British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) vetting procedure for such games, and penalties for breaches.

And the "vast majority" of computer games did not feature gross violence or sexual material.

"I am aware that what constitutes unacceptable material differs from country to country in the EU and that it would be extremely difficult to try to impose common standards," said the letter.

"However there is a wider issue here. The growth of the internet has meant we need to be alert on threats and dangers online.

"Violent video games are one issue on this spectrum. But I am also concerned about what more we can do to tackle the most extreme and harmful end of the spectrum. In particular I am concerned about child pornography."

Mr Reid called for:

• a meeting with European internet service providers to push for concerted action to remove or block access to sites involving exploitation or abuse of children;

• an EU "day of action" to raise awareness - including a co-ordinated crackdown on that day by national law enforcement bodies in the member states;

• a political display of EU support for Interpol's new Child Pornography Facial Image database. It already receives funding from the European Commission and the G8 countries to co-ordinate police efforts to identify and trace offenders and their child victims.

Mr Frattini had raised concerns about Sony Playstation's "The Rule of Rose" game, which he said had shocked him "profoundly" because of its "obscene cruelty and brutality".

The game involves a young girl kidnapped by a secret society of orphans and then subjected to psychological and physical violence.

It was released by Sony's Japanese division in Japan, but the company left it to other publishers to handle wider distribution, including in the UK, where it is subject to BBFC approval.