The Ministry of Justice has just published (see below for the details) an 8 page Guidelines on the new offence of possession of extreme pornographic images.
New offence of possession of extreme pornographic images – Ministry of Justice
26 November 2008
The Criminal Justice and immigration Act 2008 introduces a new offence, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of the possession of extreme pornographic images.
This document provides general information for members of public on the new offence of possession of extreme pornographic images in Part 5, Sections 63 to 67 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. These sections are due to come into force on 26th January 2009 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
As well as providing information about the offence, this document is intended to answer some of the more frequently asked questions about the offence. It should be read in conjunction with the Explanatory Notes on the Act published on the Office of the Public Sector Information (OPSI) website.
See further The Register article by John Ozimek entitled “UK.gov says exteme porn isn’t illegal if you delete it…unless you know how to recover a hard drive,” 28 November, 2008.