The UK government is facing a potential rebellion from a “significant number” of female Labour MPs over its refusal to extend an online pornography ban to include step-incest content. The controversy centers on whether pornographic depictions of sexual relationships between adult step-relatives should be banned alongside those involving biological relatives.
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Last week, the House of Lords narrowly passed an amendment introduced by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin to ban step-incest pornography by 144 votes to 143. This amendment could soon be subject to a Commons vote. However, government ministers have raised enforcement concerns, arguing that since adult step-relationships are legal, banning their portrayal in pornography presents legal and practical challenges.
A senior Labour MP criticized this stance, highlighting that step-parents are responsible for about half of all child sexual abuse cases, and describing the government’s position as a failure to address the principle of harm. Another MP called the government’s handling a “cockup” but expressed optimism that the issue will ultimately be resolved in favor of the ban.
The dispute comes amid wider scrutiny of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of gender-related issues within the party, following recent scandals involving senior figures, and his pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG). The government has made online pornography regulation a cross-party concern tied to its VAWG strategy.
Baroness Bertin’s review, commissioned by a previous Conservative administration, found that several types of harmful content banned offline still circulate online and made 32 recommendations, including bans on degrading and violent pornography. The government has already backed bans on strangulation pornography and incest between biological relatives, with new laws progressing through Parliament via the Crime and Policing Bill.
Justice Minister Baroness Levitt told peers that step-incest pornography remains legal to depict as the relationships themselves are not illegal, despite being “controversial.” The bill also includes measures to criminalize sharing intimate images without consent.
A government spokesperson said officials are “actively and constructively working” to respond to parliamentary amendments to strengthen laws against dangerous and degrading pornography as part of efforts to reduce violence against women and girls.
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Source: https://gokaworldnews.com/2026/03/11/female-labour-mps-threaten-rebellion-over-step-incest-porn-ban/