Crackdown on violent porn to be announced

A crackdown on brutal internet porn is set to be announced by the British Cabinet.

Websites glamorising sexual violence will be targeted using methods similar to those deployed against child pornography.

Police could be given greater powers to pursue offenders, The Daily Telegraph reports. Proposals are expected to be announced in the next few months following international talks.

The action comes after Home Secretary Charles Clarke met the mother of 31-year-old British teacher Jane Longhurst who was murdered by a male friend who was addicted to violent internet porn.

The family of Miss Longhurst, from Brighton, East Sussex, were shocked such material was freely available.

Any British site which carries illegal violent porn can be closed down.

But lack of an international agreement on what is obscene means pictures of women being abused posted on websites abroad are easily accessible.

Now viewing such material from the UK could now be made an offence. "We are looking at ways in which the current law might be strengthened," a Home Office spokeswoman confirmed. "We want to do all we can to block access to illegal sites."