British Board of Film Classification (Accountability to Parliament and Appeals) Bill

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and give way to his expertise. I was once asked to sit on the old Greater London council film classification committee, which used to meet in a cellar in Portman square on Wednesday mornings at 11 o'clock. It was an immensely popular GLC committee even in the days of reel to reel and a number of councillors frequently had to take copies so that the items could be studied. However, that was an almost frivolous, innocent and naive world—we are talking about something very different nowadays. The hon. Gentleman touches on a point that is obviously of concern to us all, in that examining and classifying material has an impact on the person watching. There is no question about that, but police officers look at the foulest of material every hour of every day of every week. They rotate, but someone has to do it. There is a sniggering side to this, but there is also a profoundly serious side to it. When one talks to police officers who have had to view some of the material—we all know what I am talking about—it is apparent that it is one of the nastiest and foulest jobs that one can have, which can be corrosive and destructive. The hon. Member for Canterbury is simply trying to bring this matter into Parliament by having the names submitted to the Select Committee—whether it is that of the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford (Mr. Whittingdale) or that of my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) does not really matter. To have not a parliamentary veto but some parliamentary influence at that stage would be so reassuring to the general public.