Claire Curtis-Thomas , the Labour MP for Crosby, Merseyside, has called for new laws to govern the display of lads mags, men's lifestyle magazines and newspapers such as the Daily Sport and Daily Star.
Ms Curtis-Thomas wants to ensure that magazines and papers containing sexually-explicit material are kept away from the prying eyes of children.
Existing Home Office-sanctioned guidelines recommend newsagents keep lads mags and the like away from children's titles and comics and don't display them at children's eye level. But the guidelines are voluntary.
An Early Day Motion laid down by Labour MP Diane Abbot earlier this year attracted 69 signatories from MPs asking for "a statutory code to govern the display of offensive materials if adherence levels under voluntary arrangements are unsatisfactory."
But the Periodical Publisher's Association begs to differ. It believes the recently-strengthened guidelines are tough enough and that a voluntary code is "far more effective and flexible than any statutory regulation".
Should it be up to newsagents what they sell, and where? Would legislation on the display of lads mags be another example of a nanny state interfering in free choice? Or should the weekly parade of naked women published by the likes of Nuts and Zoo be classed as pornography and move to the top shelf lest children grow up with the idea that demeaning women is not only acceptable but a desirable and disposable aspect of everyday life?
