The UK government has unveiled plans to ban the possession of "extreme pornographic material" downloaded from the internet.

Home Office Minister Paul Goggins has published a consultation paper inviting views on the proposals, which would make it an offence to possess images depicting scenes of serious sexual violence and "other obscene material". 

A PDF of the consultation document can be downloaded here.

Goggins said that all the categories of material proposed for banning are already illegal in the UK under the Obscene Publications Act 1959, but blamed the "global nature of the internet" for making material published on foreign servers accessible in the UK.

The government hopes that making it an offence to possess violent and abusive pornography "will send a clear message about this material, make it easier to combat and may reduce demand for it".

"This is material which is extremely offensive to the vast majority of people, and it should have no place in our society. The fact that it is available over the internet should in no way legitimise it," said Goggins.

"These forms of violent and abusive pornography go far beyond what we allow to be shown in films or even sold in licensed sex shops in the UK, so they should not be available online either.

"I am inviting views on whether legislation in this area is required, and if so, what the proscribed material and penalties should be."

The consultation invites views on whether there is a need for legislation in this area, the different ways the law could be amended, the categories of material which should be proscribed and the potential penalties for possessing such pornography.

Under the proposals, possessing images electronically would be no different from possessing actual photographs, as with current laws on child pornography.

Metropolitan Police Commander Dave Johnston, a spokesman on sexual violent crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "The internet is being targeted more and more by those who create sites that specialise in sexual violence and other types of extreme perversion.

"The investigation into such matters proves to be very difficult due to the fact that many of the sites are [hosted] abroad and are outside the jurisdiction of UK law enforcement agencies.

"Opportunities for prosecution only exist when links to such sites are found in this country. The creation of new offences to deal with these matters would assist greatly in preventing the spread of such material."

The government stressed that any new law would not be intended to target those who accidentally come into contact with obscene pornography, nor would it target the mainstream entertainment industry which works within current obscenity laws.

Responses are invited to the consultation by 2 December 2005.