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Protection of Children Act 1978
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==History== The Protection of Children Bill was put before Parliament as a [[Private Member's Bill]] by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] member of parliament [[Cyril Townsend]] in the 1977β1978 parliamentary session. This bill came about as a result of the concern over [[child pornography]] and the sexual exploitation of children that had arisen in the [[United States|United States of America]] in 1977.<ref>See Cyril Townsend's speech at the second reading of his [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1978/feb/10/protection-of-children-bill Protection of Children bill], ''Hansard'', House of Commons Debate, 10 February 1978, vol 943, cc1826-922, 1828</ref> This cause was taken up in the UK by the press<ref>''Hansard'', House of Commons Debate, 10 February 1978, vol 943, cc1826-922, 1829</ref> and [[Mary Whitehouse]], who in a speech in 1977 had accused the [[Albany Trust]] of using public money effectively supporting the [[Paedophile Information Exchange]] (the project for a joint Albany/PIE pamphlet was scrapped). Decades later, it emerged that she had been accurate in her assertion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Dominic|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/groups-linked-to-paedophile-network-given-state-grants-l96qcc9jvmz|title=Groups linked to paedophile network given state grants|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=8 July 2014|access-date=11 October 2015}} {{subscription required}}</ref> The existence of PIE was given by Townsend as an issue favouring legislation against child pornography.<ref>''Hansard'', cc1833</ref> Whitehouse's [[National Viewers' and Listeners' Association]] was able to campaign in support of the Bill and present a petition bearing 1.5 million signatures.<ref name="Ost">{{cite book|last=Ost|first=Suzanne|title=Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming: Legal and Societal Responses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MruKQz2ZdKMC&pg=PA84|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|year=2009|page=84|isbn=978-0521885829}}</ref> When the progress of the bill was threatened by MP [[Ian Mikardo]], who blocked it to protest against tactics being used by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative party]] to block [[Edward Fletcher (politician)|Edward Fletcher]]'s bill on employment protection, the Prime Minister, [[James Callaghan]], stepped in to ensure that the Bill received the time required to become law.<ref>[http://archive.theboltonnews.co.uk/2003/4/18/555769.html ''Bolton Evening News'', 18 April 1978] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006013515/http://archive.theboltonnews.co.uk/2003/4/18/555769.html |date=6 October 2008 }}</ref>
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