Mother's anti-porn fight praised

Mrs Longhurst's fight brought "the necessary pressure" for change

The mother of a murdered teacher has been praised by the Home Secretary for her fight to ban violent internet porn.

Liz Longhurst, 76, from Berkshire, launched the campaign after her daughter, Jane, was murdered in 2003.

Graham Coutts, 39, of Waterloo Street, Hove, was found guilty of killing the teacher for his sexual gratification.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith told the Commons Mrs Longhurst's campaign had brought "the necessary pressure" for possible changes to the law.

The campaigning of Liz Longhurst... has brought the issue to the fore Home Secretary Jacqui Smith

Coutts, who was sentenced to life for a second time after an Old Bailey retrial last week, had been obsessed with violent pornography on the internet.

He had always maintained that Ms Longhurst, 31, originally from Reading, Berkshire, died during a consensual sex game that went wrong.

Her mother has campaigned for legislation to ban the downloading and possession of violent or "extreme" pornography.

The ban was included in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill announced by the government last month but it still has to be approved by Parliament.

Reading West MP Martin Salter, who has been heavily involved with the campaign, asked the Home Secretary on Monday when the bill was to receive a second reading.

Replying that it was due in the autumn, she said: "The campaigning of Liz Longhurst... has brought the issue to the fore and applied the necessary pressure to bring about those legislative changes, which will be important in offering protection in this area."