UK.gov says extreme porn isn't illegal if you delete it...

A question asked by opponents of the law is whether the new legislation might trigger such a collapse – or at least cause problems. Despite repeated claims by its advocates that this offence is merely a filling in of loopholes under the OPA, it clearly is not, criminalising categories of image that would not fall foul of the existing law.

If, as seems inevitable, images from mainstream film eventually end up on the charge sheet in court, this may turn out to be a field day for moralists who have always insisted that the BBFC do not go far enough.

The guidelines further confirm that although you may possess pics of you and your beloved (singular or plural) indulging your taste for the extreme, this defence does not extend to the photographer, unless they were also a participant in the hanky-panky. Whether that means they have to set the timer going, then rush round the front to appear in the action, or just need to alternate turns with the camera and the nipple clamps is still unclear. ®

Debate - NSFW

As promised, here are some images or suggested images from mainstream film that might not stand the test set by the new law. Do feel free to comment and or provide your own suggestions and links (whilst recognising that our moderators are only human and do not all have cast-iron stomachs).

We start with our now familiar pic of two Satanic Sluts taking a bloodbath together

Then there is the rape scene from "Clockwork Orange" – which has been banned from YouTube.

Here is an award-winning Finnish short, which highlights the problem that this law might pose for much of the horror genre.

From Matador, by Pedro Almodovar, look carefully for the instant where the hero holds his girlfriend's head underwater in the bath so that she starts to drown whilst they are having sex. The guidelines target asphyxiation.

And here's some gratuitous violence.

A writer on UK film has also suggested a couple more scenes, for which we have been unable to obtain links:

The scene in The Man who Fell to Earth, where David Bowie's character threatens his girlfriend with a gun in a classic sex scene set to the tune Hello Mary Lou.

In Blue Velvet Dorothy holds Jeffrey at knifepoint after discovering him spying on her. She orders him to undress and they subsequently have sex.

If, however, you enjoy gross mutilation in a non-sexual context, have no fear: this new legislation will not touch such classics as Saw, Saw II, Saw III etc.

Apparently extreme images are only dangerous if watched by sexual deviants: psychopaths and murderers are unaffected by them.