David Cameron announces plans to keep children away from porn sites The move comes after ministers were last week accused of betraying parents by ruling out an automatic block on online pornography. The Department for Education said "expert advice" was not in favour of an automatic block, which would force anyone wanting to access pornographic websites to contact their Internet Service Provider to "opt in." But the Prime Minister's latest announcement was welcomed last night as "a big step in the right direction." Writing in a national newspaper, he said: "To me, the fact that so many children have visited the darkest corners of the internet is not just a matter of concern - it is utterly appalling. A silent attack on innocence is underway in our country today and I am determined that we fight it with all we've got. Once the new system has been implemented, Britain's internet child protection measures will be the most robust of any country in the world, he said. "All this comes back to something really important," he wrote. It's not just about the internet, or modern technology - it's about childhood. These should be distinct and precious years, full of security and love, untainted by the worries and complexities of adulthood. Conservative MP Claire Perry, who has campaigned for a broader, automatic block on adult content for all internet users, will be appointed as Mr Cameron's adviser on tackling the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood. She will be in charge of putting the new web filter system in place. Mrs Perry, MP for Devizes and a Parliamentary aide at the Ministry of Defence, said: "It is clear people think that more needs to be done, but there isn't a majority in favour of an automatic block. If you have proper age verification systems, then I think this new system will put us a long way ahead of the rest of the world. As near as damn it, we have got what we want and most campaigners are quite happy. The industry has, with a few notable exceptions, been quite slow but there is now good momentum. Jon Brown of the NSPCC said the charity believed an "opt in" system was the best way to protect children but hailed Mr Cameron's plans as "a big step in the right direction." Last week the coalition decided not to impose an "opt in" system for pornography, instead telling internet service providers to "actively encourage" parents to use content filters on shared computers. Some 40 per cent of parents who responded to the Government's consultation on the issue said they knew their children had viewed online porn.