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

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. The fact is that we have that parliamentary mechanism. That is probably the appropriate relationship between Parliament and the regulator, whoever the regulator happens to be. The real argument that we should be having today is on whether the regulator is doing its job properly, given some of the decisions that it has made. I do not think that we in Parliament, collectively, should second-guess decisions on particular videos or films, although we may have our own personal views. I think that some of the regulator's decisions may have been wrong, and I am sure that others in the House think so, too, but it would not be right for us collectively to come to that conclusion. That would be a dangerous course to take, and I would be very worried if we took it. The first question is whether the independent regulator makes the right decisions, and the second is whether it has the right processes for taking account of the public's view. We should also ask whether there is an appropriate appeal mechanism that allows the pubic to express its concerns. The BBFC guidelines show the main issues that the regulator considers, including the theme of the work. It highlights the most problematic themes, which include drug abuse, sexual violence, paedophilia, and incitement to racial hatred or violence—the very things that we have talked about today. The guidelines mention the problem of bad language and how the depth of concern may vary. They mention nudity, sex and violence, rightly saying:"““Violence has always been a feature of entertainment for children and adults.””" The question is how that is addressed. The answer is: through the classification system, and where the film appears. In making decisions about violence, the BBFC particularly considers the"““portrayal of violence as a normal solution to problems””" and"““heroes who inflict pain and injury””—" in other words, hero-worship. It also considers ““callousness towards victims””, ““encouraging aggressive attitudes””, and"““taking pleasure in pain or humiliation””." It says:"““Works which glorify, glamorise or sexualise violence will receive a more restrictive classification and may even be cut.””" It goes on to say:"““The BBFC has a strict policy on rape and sexual violence.””" I will not go into that in detail; that would be going a little off the subject. The point is that the BBFC's guidelines contain all the tools it needs to deal with the ills that we have identified today.