Co-op tells lads’ mags to cover up

The Co-operative has told the publishers of lads' magazines to cover up or face being banned from the company's shelves.

Publications such as FHM, Nuts, Zoo, Loaded and Front often carry revealing images of their covergirl. However, this could soon be hidden in a "modesty bag" which would prevent children from seeing these pictures as they walk past.

The Co-operative has given a deadline of September 9th for the pre-sealed request to be carried out, having already tried out the use of opaque screens in front of these magazines.

The move comes amid political debate regarding the effects of sexual images on children, while prime minister David Cameron has announced a number of reforms which will introduce family-friendly internet filters which will block pornography unless the bill-payer opts out by contacting their service provider.

Steve Murrells, chief executive of retail at the Co-operative, said that the company has listened to the concerns of its members and customers in making the modesty bag request, with many people saying that they object to their children being able to see "overt sexual images in our stores".

"Whilst we have tried to mitigate the likelihood of young children seeing the images with a number of measures in-store, the most effective way of doing this is for these magazines to be put in individual, sealed modesty bags.

"As an interim measure, we have introduced our own opaque screens on shelf to reinforce our existing policy limiting the display of such material."

Another favourite publication among lads' mag fans is the Sport newspaper, and it has already agreed that it will deliver its editions to Co-op stores inside a bag from the start of September.

It remains to be seen whether other supermarkets and retailers follow this move, with many having already utilised the opaque screen tactic.

Bauer Media, the publisher of Zoo magazine, said that it is sensitive to the mood of the public and has recently changed the imagery and phrasing on its front covers.