Crime and Policing Bill Report Stage: New Clause 121

Parliament voted on 18 June 2025 on New Clause 121 to the Crime and Policing Bill, which would have extended the legal definition of extreme pornography to include depictions of non-fatal strangulation. The clause was tabled by Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport. The vote was defeated by 310 noes to 114 ayes. The practical effect of the clause, had it passed, would have been to make it a criminal offence to possess or distribute pornographic material depicting non-fatal strangulation. Supporters argued the measure was needed because such content is widespread on mainstream pornography sites, is shaping the sexual behaviour of young men, and is being used in criminal defences: when women die from strangulation, it is increasingly common for defendants to claim the act was consensual and part of sexual activity. Non-fatal strangulation was itself made a criminal offence in 2021, but supporters of the clause argued that the pornographic normalisation of the act had not been addressed. Almost the entire Conservative parliamentary party voted aye, joined by Reform UK, the Greens, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, the Ulster Unionist Party, and most independent MPs. Labour was overwhelmingly in the no lobby, with only one Labour MP voting aye. The government opposed the clause, and Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs delivered the majority against it. The clause did attract some stated cross-party support during debate, though this was not reflected in the voting numbers.