Peers vote to ban pornography depicting sex acts between stepfamily members
The government has agreed to ban the production of pornography depicting sex acts between stepfamily members following a vote in the House of Lords.The government tabled an amendment calling for step-incest to be included in a ban on harmful content, with the support of the Conservative peer Gabby Bertin, who led a review into pornography regulation that was published last year.The ban is one of several that have been proposed by the government, including last year’s criminalisation of material depicting women being choked.Some ministers had opposed the amendment and suggested the new ban would have been difficult to implement because, under the law in England and Wales, it is not illegal for adults who are step-related to engage in a sexual relationship.Speaking after the ban was agreed on Friday, Lady Bertin said: “I greatly welcome the government’s plans to fully address harmful pornographic content, such as incest, step-incest and the mimicking of child sexual abuse.
“This content that is freely and widely available online is deeply harmful, normalising child sexual abuse and abusive relationships within families.“Today the government has answered our calls for change, and I am delighted that once again the UK is leading the way on regulating this high-harm industry.”The amendment was narrowly passed, with 144 voting in favour and 143 against.Once the law comes into effect, anyone found to posses or publish pornography which shows incest between family members, or sex between step- or foster-relations where one person is pretending to be under-18, will be criminalised, with publication carrying a maximum penalty of two to five years’ imprisonment, depending on the severity of the content.Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for victims and tackling violence against girls, said: “I’ve sadly heard far too many devastating stories from victims and I know we need change now.
“Tackling violence against women and girls within a decade will take every single one of us.We have been clear that vile online pornography has real-life consequences for all of us and I’d like to thank every brave campaigner who has worked with us to deliver this vital step.”She added: “Today we are sending a powerful message: we will stamp out misogynistic and harmful content online and create a safer world.”The bans coincide with the government announcing its intention to table an amendment to the crime and policing bill which would hold tech bosses personally accountable if websites run by them or their companies fail to remove intimate images of people that have been uploaded without their consent, sometimes referred to as “revenge porn”.Under this amendment, senior tech figures who have been made aware of non-consensual sexual material on their websites could face large fines, imprisonment or both if they do not act to remove without good cause.
The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, said: “Too many women have had their lives shattered by having their intimate images shared online without consent.“This government is uncompromising in our mission to protect women and girls online, and we have taken action to stop tech firms from publishing this abusive content.“In February, we told platforms that they must remove reported non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours.Now we are going further by introducing measures meaning that senior tech executives could be criminally liable if their companies fail to act when required to do so by Ofcom.“Protecting women and girls online is not optional, it is a responsibility that sits squarely with every tech company’s leadership.
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GSK reports promising early results in ovarian and womb cancer drug trial
GSK has revealed positive results for a treatment for gynaecological cancers as its chief executive, Luke Miels, seeks to speed up drug development at the group.The company said that in an early-stage trial Mocertatug Rezetecan, known as Mo-Rez, shrank or eliminated tumours in 62% of patients with ovarian cancer where chemotherapy had failed, and in 67% of those with endometrial cancer.Based in London, GSK has recently gained plaudits for its work on tackling superbugs, becoming one of just three big pharma companies globally that continue to invest in anti-microbial research.However, commercially GSK has been eclipsed in recent years by its bigger British rival AstraZeneca, which last year outstripped GSK’s near-£33bn turnover by more than £10bn and whose market value is more than twice as high.GSK acquired the Mo-Rez cancer treatment, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), from China’s Hansoh Pharma in late 2023, and has trialled it in 224 patients around the world, including the UK, over the past year
Collapse of US-Iran talks heightens fears of prolonged energy shock
The failure of the US and Iran to reach a peace deal after marathon negotiations has put markets on alert for further oil and gas price rises.With large numbers of oil tankers remaining stuck in the Gulf, the US vice-president, JD Vance, blamed the collapse of the talks on Tehran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, while Iranian sources hit back at “excessive” demands from Washington.Vance, who left Islamabad on Sunday morning after 21 hours of talks with Iranian officials in the Pakistani capital, said his team had been very clear on its red lines as hopes faded of a quick end to the war that began on 28 February with US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran.A weekend market in US crude oil operated by the broker IG indicated that the oil price was going to rise when trading begins on Sunday night, UK time, to about $98 a barrel, from about $96.50 on Friday night before the peace talks in Pakistan
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Dr TikTok: patients diagnose chronic illnesses with anonymous commenters’ help
TikTok users increasingly say the app has steered them toward diagnosing medical problems not yet identifiedMalina Lee, a 31-year-old wedding baker based in San Antonio, Texas, joined TikTok during the Covid pandemic lockdowns in 2020. Like many people at the time, she was bored and began using the platform to pass the time and advertise her business. She didn’t expect a cancer diagnosis.Four years after Lee joined the app, a commenter with the username “PickleFart” told her that her neck looked asymmetrical in a way that could suggest she had a goiter – an enlarged thyroid gland – and that she should get it checked out. The anonymous amateur clinician turned out to be right – Lee had thyroid cancer, received treatment quickly, and, less than a year later, was cancer free
The Masters 2026: Cameron Young forges ahead in final round – live
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‘This is not serious leadership’: Donald Trump and Marco Rubio watch UFC in Miami as Iran talks fail
Donald Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio attended a UFC event in Miami night on Saturday night as peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm alongside several members of his family and UFC chief Dana White, who has been a supporter of the president since his first term. Seated nearby was Rubio as well as the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, the rapper Vanilla Ice and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino.“The Secretary of State skipped the Iran negotiations in Pakistan to attend a UFC fight. So did the Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, while Pakistan has no confirmed U
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