Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955
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| Long title | An Act to prevent the dissemination of certain pictorial publications harmful to children and young persons. |
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| Citation | c.28 |
| Introduced by | Gwilym Lloyd George |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland (in part) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 May 1955 |
| Commencement | 6 June 1955 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk | |
The Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955 (c.28) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that prohibited comics that were thought to be harmful to children. The Act was introduced by the Home Secretary, Gwilym Lloyd George (a son of former prime minister David Lloyd George), in response to the publication of horror comics which had become popular by the 1950s. This issue was drawn to the attention of Parliament by the National Union of Teachers and by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher.
Section 1 defined the kind of publication which the Act was intended to deal with. It applied to:
"...any book, magazine or other like work which is of a kind likely to fall into the hands of children or young persons and consists wholly or mainly of stories told in pictures (with or without the addition of written matter), being stories portraying—
"Child or young person" means someone aged under 18.
Section 2(1) made it a criminal offence in England and Wales and Scotland to print, publish, sell or let on hire such a comic, or to possess one for the purpose of selling or letting it. The offence is punishable by imprisonment for up to 4 months or a £1,000 fine (increased from £100 in 1975 (Scotland) and 1982 (England)).
The offence was originally triable before a jury. However it is today a summary offence.
Section 2(2) requires the consent of the Attorney General to prosecute the offence in England and Wales.
Section 3 gives the courts the power to issue search warrants and to order forfeiture of harmful publications.
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