UPDATE: Google and Microsoft praised after agreeing to block child abuse images

‘Rape porn’ possession will be punished by three years in jail (Picture: PA/File)

Anyone caught possessing pornography which depicts rape could be jailed for three years under new government plans.

It is against the law to publish images of rape but a legal loophole means possession of the material is currently unpunishable.

The changes to the law, which will be introduced in January, will bring England and Wales in line with Scotland, where the offence carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail.


Mr Cameron is targeting websites which show videos and images of rape – whether they claim they are ‘simulated’ or not.



The prime minister has previously attacked websites which show the material, saying: ‘These images normalise sexual violence against women – and they are quite simply poisonous to the young people who see them.’

In a further crackdown on what Mr Cameron referred to as ‘the darkest corners of the internet’, Downing Street will tomorrow announce that a national database will be created to give every illegal image a label.

The move is designed to make it easier to have the material removed from the internet.