Hardcore porn 'destroying' childhood, says Denis MacShane

Dr MacShane said that he wanted to see restrictions on how adult content can be accessed on computers and smartphones used by children.

He has joined other MPs in calling on BT, Sky, Virgin, TalkTalk and Orange to make it impossible to access hard-core porn unless the user completes a  screening process to confirm their age.

Dr MacShane said: “At meetings with the communications minister Ed Vaizey, we heard reports that children in primary school were watching on average eight minutes of hard-core porn a week.

“This sexualisation of children destroys childhood and encourages a degrading image of girls and women as the sex objects of males.”

The current generation of children and adolescents are heavy internet users, with 90 per cent of 12- to 15-year-olds and 75 per cent of five to seven-year- olds saying that they use the Internet regularly.

MPs believed that the ease of web access combined with their technology knowledge means that young people are at risk of accidentally or deliberately accessing porn