Background Part 5 – Criminal law
84.A joint Home Office/Scottish Executive consultation on extreme pornographic material was published in August 2005. A summary of the responses to this consultation together with the Government’s response was published in August 2006 (available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-extreme-porn-3008051/). Sections 63 to 67 give effect to these proposals.
85.The offences introduced by section 75 and Schedule 17 are needed in order to facilitate UK ratification of amendments made in 2005 to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). The original CPPNM was concluded under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1980. It entered into force in 1987, and there are currently 130 Parties. The UK is a Party, having signed the Convention in 1980 and ratified it in 1991.
86.A joint Crown Prosecution Service/Association of Chief Police Officers leaflet was published in February 2005 (available at www.cps.gov.uk/Publications/docs/intruder_leaflet2005.pdf). This aimed to set out in plain language what householders’ rights are and the level of force they can use when confronted by an intruder. In September 2007 the Justice Secretary announced the Government’s intention to review the law on self-defence to address the issue of public understanding, which is still apparent. Section 76 clarifies the law on the use of force in self-defence or the prevention of crime.
87.The provisions (in section 77) to amend the Data Protection Act 1998 to allow for custodial sanctions for those convicted of offences under section 55 of that Act were set out in a consultation paper in July 2006 “Increasing penalties for deliberate and wilful misuse of personal data”. The Government’s response was published in February 2007. Both documents are available at www.dca.gov.uk/consult/misuse_data/cp0906.htm.