Livingston MP raises concerns in the Commons about threat of AI-generated child sexual abuse material
Livingston's MP has raised concerns about the 'growing prevalence' of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Gregor Poynton was speaking in the House of Commons during questions to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, when he described it as 'one of the biggest threats to our public safety.'
The West Lothian MP cited warnings from law enforcement bodies, stressing the need for urgent and coordinated action, and criticised recent opposition from the Tories and Reform to new legislation designed to tackle the issue.
'The National Crime Agency and other law enforcement agencies have highlighted the growing prevalence of AI-generated child sexual abuse material as one of the biggest threats to our public safety,' he said. 'And it's a growing threat to all of us online.
'That's why I was astonished to see the Conservatives and Reform Party vote against the Policing and Crime Bill last week, which contains world-leading measures to criminalise the creation and distribution of AI-generated child sexual abuse material. We simply cannot allow child safety to become a political football.'
Responding on behalf of the UK Government, Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, Feryal Clark MP, confirmed that the Bill introduces a new criminal offence targeting AI models optimised to produce child abuse imagery. She reiterated the government's commitment to adapting the law to keep pace with emerging digital harms.
'Child sexual exploitation and abuse is one of the most horrendous harms,' the Minister said. 'This new offence builds on protections in the Online Safety Act and I'm very clear that nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping our children safe.'
Gregor Poynton, chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children's Online Safety, and has consistently advocated for tougher regulation of harmful online content and greater transparency from tech companies. He welcomed the new offence as 'a necessary step', but expressed concern about the political divisions that have emerged around the issue.
He added: 'Last week, Parliament had the opportunity to come together behind one of the toughest crackdowns yet on AI-generated child abuse material. It's disappointing that the Conservatives and Reform chose to oppose it. On an issue as serious as child safety, families across the UK expect politicians to do the right thing — to keep our children and young people safe online, not to turn this into a political football.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
MPs back move to protect llamas and alpacas from dog attacks
Dog owners already face a fine if their pet attacks or worries farm animals listed in the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, such as cattle, sheep, pigs and horses. But after a Commons debate, MPs have agreed to add 'camelids' to this list, giving llamas and alpacas in England and Wales similar protections as they have in Scotland. The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill, which now faces further scrutiny in the Lords at a later date, will also see unlimited fines rolled out in dog attack cases, lifting a £1,000 cap. 'They're no laughing matter, alpacas and llamas,' Labour MP Peter Lamb said. 'The Inca empire never developed the wheel. 'The entirety of that empire was built off the back of alpacas and llamas and, as a result, they are an animal that's worthy of great respect.' Mr Lamb said he had heard of 'pretty harrowing cases of what happened to that livestock' at a centre in Tilgate Park in Crawley, West Sussex, where he was the borough council leader. 'In one case, a sheep was just literally set on fire whilst still alive and while the Bill does not directly deal with that, I think some of the mentality that goes into disrespecting these animals is worthy of note,' he said. 'But what we have done is very often, far more often than that, had dogs set on these animals, or at least, people have not been in control of these. 'And we've eventually had to remove the sheep entirely from the publicly accessible areas on the basis of that.' Conservative MP for Chester South and Eddisbury Aphra Brandreth, who proposed the private member's Bill, told the Commons: 'Livestock worrying, as we know, has devastating consequences for both animals and farmers.' She added: 'The damage of a livestock attack can be horrific, causing brutal injuries which are tragically often fatal. 'There are instances of stress causing pregnant livestock to miscarry, and separation of mothers and young leading to hypothermia or starvation. 'I've seen pictures from farmers in my constituency where attacks have mutilated their calves beyond any hope of keeping them alive. 'The consequences, no matter what the scale of an attack, are profound.' As part of the draft new law, authorities would get the powers to treat attacking livestock as separate to 'worrying', which includes chasing farm animals in a way which could cause injury, suffering or loss or 'diminution in their produce'. The Bill would also expand the 1953 Act's scope, which applies on agricultural land, to roads and paths, where animals might be herded. Labour MP Mike Reader praised Ms Brandreth for her 'responsible and balanced approach'. The Northampton South MP said it was 'positive that this expands that definition to roads and paths, because it sets clear requirements that when someone is accessing land, particularly throughout Northamptonshire where there're so many paths that run through farmland, there's a clear definition in the law to both protect farmers but also to set clear boundaries for those who are perhaps walking their dogs… when they access farmland'. Environment minister Emma Hardy said the Government was 'fully committed to supporting this important Bill as it progresses through the other place', before the Bill cleared the Commons at third reading.
South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Keir Starmer says he understands what ‘anchors' Donald Trump
The Prime Minister told the BBC Radio 4 podcast Political Thinking With Nick Robinson it was 'in the national interest' for the two men to connect. He said: 'We are different people and we've got different political backgrounds and leanings, but we do have a good relationship and that comes from a numbers of places. 'I think I do understand what anchors the president, what he really cares about. 'For both of us, we really care about family and there's a point of connection there.' Sir Keir said in the interview to mark a year in office he has a 'good personal relationship' with Mr Trump, and revealed the first time they spoke was after the then-presidential candidate was shot at a campaign rally in July last year. He said Mr Trump had returned the phone call a few days after the Prime Minister's brother Nick had died on Boxing Day. Sir Keir said he secretly visited his 60-year-old brother before and after the general election during his cancer treatment. He said: 'It's really hard to lose your brother to cancer. I wanted fiercely to protect him. 'And that's why both before the election and after the election, I went secretly to see him at home, secretly to see him in hospital. 'He was in intensive care for a long time.' Addressing recent political turmoil, Sir Keir said he will always 'carry the can' as leader after coming under fire over a climbdown on welfare reforms and that he would 'always take responsibility' when asked questions. 'When things go well… the leader gets the plaudits, but when things don't go well, it is really important that the leader carries the can – and that's what I will always do.' Sir Keir also backed Rachel Reeves and said she would be Chancellor 'for a very long time to come', after the politician was visibly tearful in the House of Commons on Wednesday following a U-turn to welfare reform plans that put an almost £5 billion black hole in her plans. "It was a personal matter." Sir Keir Starmer has told @bbcnickrobinson that Rachel Reeves' tears at PMQs had "nothing to do with politics". The prime minister has backed Rachel Reeves to remain as chancellor in an interview on BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking.#R4Today — BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) July 3, 2025 Ms Reeves said it was a 'personal matter' which had upset her ahead of Prime Minister's Questions. The Government had seen off the threat of a major Commons defeat over the legislation on Tuesday after shelving plans to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment, the main disability benefit in England. Sir Keir said he cannot 'pretend… that wasn't a tough day', and stressed the welfare system 'isn't working for the people that matter to me'. 'In the world that isn't politics, it is commonplace for people to look again at a situation and judge it by the circumstances as they now are and make a decision accordingly,' he said of the changes. 'And that is common sense, it's pragmatic, and it's a reflection of who I am. 'It was important that we took our party with us, that we got it right. 'And Labour politicians come into public life because they care deeply about these issues.
South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Bill to ban young kittens and puppies being imported into UK passed by MPs
Legislation put forward by Liberal Democrat MP Dr Danny Chambers will reduce the number of animals for non-commercial entry into the UK, ban the import of puppies and kittens under six months old or heavily pregnant dogs and cats, and introduce a halt on the import of dogs and cats who have been 'mutilated', including having their ears docked. The MP for Winchester's Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill was supported by the Government, and will now proceed to the House of Lords on its passage to becoming law. Dr Chambers said: 'As a vet, I've seen the devastating consequences of puppy smuggling. It's unimaginably cruel to separate puppies and kittens from their mothers at a very young age, and then bring them across borders in substandard conditions where they're then sold for maximum profit by unscrupulous traders who prioritise profit over welfare.' He added: 'Careful consideration has been given to setting these limits, balancing the need to disrupt illegal trade with minimising impact on genuine pet owners. To underpin this, only an owner, not an authorised person, will be permitted to sign and declare that the movement of a dog or cat is non-commercial. 'Crucially, the Bill places a duty on the Government to use these regulation-making powers to first deliver three key measures – a ban on the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, a ban on the import of heavily pregnant dogs and cats that are more than 42 days pregnant, and a ban on the import of dogs and cats who've been mutilated.' He criticised the influence of social media on the increased demand for dogs with docked ears, and a party colleague hit out at the platforms' role in publishing animal abuse. He said: 'One reason that there is such an interest in dogs with cropped ears is that a lot of influencers on Instagram and other social media platforms pose with these dogs or show they have these new dogs with cropped ears. Many people aren't aware that this is a mutilation. 'They think it's how the dogs' ears normally look, and it drives a demand for dogs that look like this.' Labour MP Peter Lamb (Crawley) directly named Meta, which owns Facebook, as a company that publishes content featuring animal abuse. He said: 'There are far too many groups online which are dedicated to animal abuse. Constituents of mine have been involved in attempts to try and shut these groups down over the years. 'They'll also often find that instead of finding support on the part of social media companies, to try and address these problems, instead it is they who are reported and face their own accounts being shut down by those perpetrators.' He added: 'We cannot rest on our laurels and Meta must be made to answer for the fact that they are not acting to bring an end to animal abuse on their networks, and that they are profiting actively from the advertising which appears on that network, and advertisers must be aware that part of what they are paying for, when they pay to advertise on Facebook, is maintenance of animal abuse networks.' Environment minister Emma Hardy said: 'These measures represent a crucial step forward in our collective efforts to tackle the pet smuggling trade.' Ms Hardy added: 'We want to see fewer low-welfare operations supply pets to the GB market and fundamentally less animals to suffer because of this.' She continued: 'As set out in the Government's manifesto, we are committed to ending puppy smuggling and delivering a better future for our animals and I am pleased to say that this Bill does just that. 'It's key measures deliver crucial recommendations put forward by the Efra (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) select committee and tackle multiple concerns that have been raised by stakeholders regarding loopholes in our current pet travel rules.'
