Minister joins call to ban EA â??Taliban fighterâ??

The man put in charge of the UK’s Ministry of Defence has urged retailers to ban the selling of EA’s Medal Of Honor reboot.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox now adds to the outcry against the game from various national media outlets.

Fox is “disgusted” by Medal Of Honor’s multiplayer mode, which allows players to assume the role of Islamist political group the Taliban and fight NATO troops.

”It is shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban,” Fox said.

”I am disgusted and angry. It’s hard to believe that any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game.I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product.”

The move is a new blow for the once-rosy relations between the UK game industry and its government, which this year saw the Treasury back away from promises to introduce game tax breaks.

Fox, a Conservative MP, is not thought to have made public comments about videogames in the past.

The calls for a retail ban come after news outlet Fox News interviewed Karen Meredith, the mother of a soldier who died in the Afghan War, as part of a news report entitled “Video Game Lets You Be the Taliban”.

Meredith also called for the game to be banned, and sparked what is now becoming widespread criticism of EA’s war game.

An EA spokesperson said the game gives users “the opportunity to play both sides”, adding, “most of us have done this since we were seven: someone plays the cop, someone plays the robber.”

Medal Of Honor is in development at two key EA studios; the Californian outfit Danger Close, and Swedish group DICE.