Anti-porn petition heads to MPs

Mrs Longhurst hopes action will be taken on internet porn

The mother of a murdered teacher is preparing to close a petition calling for a ban on violent internet porn before it is given to MPs.

Liz Longhurst, 74, of Reading, Berkshire, said new legislation would mean her daughter's death in 2003 "would not have been entirely in vain".

Porn-obsessed Graham Coutts killed Jane Longhurst in Hove, East Sussex.

It is thought up to 50,000 people have signed the document to be handed to the House of Commons on 23 November.

Prison sentence

Although the distribution of extreme pornography is illegal in the UK, it does not affect foreign websites - new laws could ban possession of it in the UK.

The Home Office and Scottish Executive are now consulting on whether new laws are needed and what should be covered.

The aim is for a new offence of possessing violent and abusive pornography, which could be punishable by up to three years in prison, Home Officer Minister Paul Goggins told BBC Radio 4's Today programme in August.

A Home Office spokeswoman added the proposed law included deliberately viewing such images which meant "effectively downloading" the information on to the computer.

The new laws would not affect people who came into contact with pornographic material by accident.

Mrs Longhurst, who met Home Secretary Charles Clarke in the Commons for talks earlier this year, began her anti-internet porn campaign shortly after Coutts conviction.