The Bishop of Chester raised concerns in the House of Lords about how easy it is for children to access online pornography.

Rt Rev Dr Peter Forster was generally supportive of a motion to approve the Online Pornography (Commercial Basis) Regulations 2018 which got passed.

But he remained concerned age-verification procedures would not apply to all sites featuring pornography.

Bishop Peter, who joked that he had ended up as the church’s ‘expert on pornography’, said the harmful effects of porn had been discussed in a previous debate.

He stated: “While there was some difference over the effect of sex entertainment on grown-ups, there was virtual unanimity that youngsters should have been shielded from erotic entertainment — to the extent this could sensibly be accomplished.”

Minister Peter proceeded with: “My primary concern identifies with access to erotic entertainment on sites that don’t charge for access. Given their explicit substance is restricted to 33% of their aggregate substance, they are exempted from the controls. They may not charge but rather they may profit from publicizing and different sources. What is the basis for picking 33% and not, say, 10%?