Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of harmonising the time within which an offence can be tried in court after it has been committed for (a) taking and (b) creating intimate images without consent.

We have tabled a Government amendment to the offence of creating a purported intimate image at clause 135 of the Data (Use and Access) Bill. This will extend the time limit in a similar way to the offence at section 127(1) of the Communications Act 2003, ensuring that perpetrators can be prosecuted for creating an intimate image deepfake without consent, even if it only comes to light more than six months after its creation.

The Women and Equalities Committee has recommended an extension of the time limit for the prosecution of other existing and proposed intimate image offences, and we are carefully reviewing their recommendations.