Lads' mags disappear from shelves in the UK

Lads’ mags will not be sold in thousands of Co-operative stores in the UK from today after the company said publishers refused to meet requests to put them in sealed “modesty” bags.

The move affects Front, Nuts and Zoo, while the Midweek and Sunday Sport newspapers are also being pulled for the same reason.

The Co-operative Group said it made the request in July in response to “growing concerns” by customers and staff over exposure to children of “overt sexual images” on front covers of magazines.

The publishers of Loaded have agreed to put the magazine into bags, said the Co-op.

Steve Murrells, chief executive of retail for the Co-operative Group, said: “As a community-based retailer, we have listened to and acted upon the concerns of our customers and members, many of whom said they objected to their children being able to see overt sexual images in our stores.

“We believe individual, sealed modesty bags are the most effective way of addressing these concerns, so we will no longer be stocking the titles that have failed to meet our request.

“This action will make our stores more attractive to families with young children, by creating a more family-friendly shopping environment.”

The announcement covers more than 4,000 stores in the UK.