By Chris Greenwood
Daily Mail
November 1, 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055957/Bishop-urges-investors-join-fight-internet-porn.html
 |
| A community rocked: The Bishop of Bristol urged the Church of England and other investors to force internet service providers (ISPs) to block such material after the murder of Jo Yeates |
 |
| Murderer: Vincent Tabak trawled through internet porn before he killed Jo Yeates, polcie are now under pressure to treat extreme sites in the same way as child abuse images |
 |
| Murderer: Vincent Tabak trawled through internet porn before he killed Jo Yeates, polcie are now under pressure to treat extreme sites in the same way as child abuse images |
 |
| Demands: The Rt Rev Mike Hill wants to Church of England to force Internet providers to block extreme pornographic material |
A leading bishop last night urged people with shares in internet firms to confront them over their records on pornography.
The Bishop of Bristol said his community had been rocked by the murder of Joanna Yeates in a sickening case that 'no city on the planet' should have to witness.
The Rt Rev Mike Hill added that he was appalled to hear of Miss Yeates's killer Vincent Tabak's obsession with vile images of women being sexually tortured – and called for the Church of England and other investors to force internet service providers (ISPs) to block such material.
He added: 'This kind of pornography seems so degrading, obscene and deeply unhelpful to the building of healthy communities.
'It beats me why any internet service provider would be happy to have that kind of stuff go out at all. You would have thought the risk to their reputations meant that any financial gain was not worth it.'
The easy availability of hateful images has been thrown in the spotlight by the conviction of Tabak.
It emerged after his conviction for murder last Friday that the Dutchman was a regular visitor to websites featuring sexual violence, bondage and strangulation.
Police are now under pressure to treat the most extreme pornography in the same way as child abuse images, while ISPs such as Virgin Media, BT and Sky face criticism for failing to protect children from shocking images.
Yesterday, the Daily Mail revealed that the Church of England is considering withdrawing the millions it has invested in ISPs unless they take action.
The bishop, who sits on the Church's assets committee, added: 'Of course not everybody who looks at internet pornography becomes a violent and sadistic killer. But the fact is a few do, and it may "turn on" something that was not there before.
'We do not want any more Jo Yeates stories in Bristol or any city on the planet. It is dreadful.'
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.