But let’s bear in mind that Mary Whitehouse was as much a figure of fun as she was a campaigner, and to be honest she had as much real influence as John Beyer and his ilk have now. And the “Ban This Sick Filth” brigade have been around for a while with no real effect. Let’s face it, if they had any real power, Antichrist would not have been given any kind of release.

Loved the reference to “The Mist”, but it’s a bit disingenuous. Religious fundamentalists in this country simply don’t have the kind of lobbying power that they do in the States. For which we should all be very grateful, I reckon…

Though I think you are underestimating the likes of John Beyer and Mediawatch, not quite the full shilling though they are. To be perfectly honest, compared to Mary Whitehouse, John Beyer was benign. It only takes another MW to take over his role and we’d have another ridiculous witchhunt on our hands. That and of course some tragic event for the politicians to swarm around like flies. The fundamentalists and the politicians do seem to feed of each other to get their way.

The Mist is the perfect example of how a section of society are easily led under certain circumstances and religion, and Mary Whitehouse demonstrated this years before Stephen King did.