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Abusive Images (Internet)

We said originally that it should be by the end of 2007, as my hon. Friend is aware. We thought it appropriate to wait a year or so to see whether we could meet the target voluntarily and tell the industry that we need it to do so. The issue will not go away. We will now take it forward much more proactively to address the problem and resolve the issues. As she said, the industry says that it is having problems, but to the public, access is available to abusive images of the vilest kind, which none of us wants to see. One of the ways in which the Government have responded to the issue is by setting up CEOP, one of the first such centres in the world. CEOP has had marked success in targeting online predators and in forming crucial partnerships with international law enforcement agencies, meaning that the UK continues to be recognised as a world leader in serious online protection. I pay tribute to the work of Jim Gamble and all the people at CEOP. The Government have never been complacent about the potential threat to children from those who would seek to harm them online. We have been active on the issue for a considerable time. As a result of a recommendation by the Home Secretary's taskforce, we introduced an offence of grooming in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which makes it an offence to communicate with a child and arrange to meet them for sexual purposes. Again, we were the first country in Europe to introduce such an offence. Other countries have now introduced or are considering introducing similar offences. Only a few weeks ago, four and a half years after the introduction of the offence in the UK, the European Parliament recommended that all European Community members do so.