There aren’t many stories that genuinely surprise anymore but today’s splash in The Sun is a real shocker.
The Sun has photographs of a baby-faced thirteen year old boy holding the child that he has fathered with a fifteen year-old girl.
David Cameron has called the news "worrying" but was cautious. Iain Duncan Smith was more direct with this statement to the London Evening Standard’s Paul Waugh:
"It exemplifies the point that we at the Centre for Social Justice have been making about broken Britain. It’s not about being accusative, it’s about pointing out the complete collapse in some parts of society of any sense of what’s right and wrong in terms of children and relationships. There is no oppobrium any more about behaviour and quite often children witness behaviour that is aggressive, violent, rude and sexual. It’s as if no one is saying this is wrong. I don’t know about these particular families, but too many dysfunctional families in Britain today have children growing up where anything goes. It’s utterly tragic."
There are things that Government can do to tackle family breakdown but IDS is largely right. The collapse of Britain’s social order is a cultural crisis. Civilisations aren’t maintained automatically but by constant efforts to discourage bad behaviours and encourage good behaviours. Parents today face a lonely battle to teach their children about right and wrong.
Tim Montgomerie