A TORY MP yesterday questioned whether television taste and decency rules are adequate, telling the Commons one recent film contained 212 ``uses of the F-word''
Mr Michael Stephen (Shoreham) said at Question Time: ``Many MPs on both sides are very concerned that digital broadcasters would have to observe the highest standards of taste and decency.''
He asked National Heritage Secretary Virginia Bottomley: ``If the existing codes of conduct are adequate, can you explain why, in April and again in June this year, it was possible to screen a film called Goodfellas which included stabbings, shootings and, in its 146 minutes, contained 212 uses of the F-word and on four occasions the F-word used in conjunction with the word `mother?'''
Mrs Bottomley said: ``The introduction of the Broadcasting Standards Council, combining the strengths of the two predecessor bodies, is intended to ensure that there is an enhanced sense of responsibility to the interests of audiences and the public.'' She added that programme-makers would have to provide evidence that they were taking steps in response to viewers' complaints.
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