from www.dailymail.co.uk – A legal blunder 25 years ago has left ministers powerless to take action against retailers who sell violent and sexually explicit videos, DVDs and games to children, they have admitted.

The Tory government failed to tell the European Commission about the Video Recordings Act when it was drawn up in 1984, rendering it worthless.

Dozens of prosecutions for alleged breaches have had to be dropped following the discovery, while those convicted of offences could mount a legal challenge for the right to appeal.

Lawyers discovered the error while going through the Act ahead of ministers amending it to create a new video games classification system.

The Government will be unable to take action against anyone again until the law is amended in parliament – but EU rules mean it could be three months before this can happen.

There are fears that opportunists will use the loophole as an opportunity to profit by illegally selling explicit material to youngsters. Barbara Follett, the minister for Culture and Tourism, was last night reduced to pleading with retailers.

In a letter, she wrote: ‘I would like to seek the industry’s assurance that they will continue to retail these products in the same way and that they will remain complaint with the VRA on a voluntary and best practice basis.’

LibDem culture spokesman Don Foster said: ‘This must be a massive embarrassment to the Tories, especially as David Cameron was the special adviser to the Home Secretary in 1993 when the law was amended.’

Tory culture spokesman Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Much of the problem would have been avoided if the Government had sorted out the classification of video games earlier, as we have been urging them to do.’