The Core Issue

There is not much to be said for Matt Hancock.

But he really is beginning to take the fight to the pornography industry, which is one of the most important manifestations of the morally objectionable character of the "free" market system that, like all economic arrangements, is a political choice.

The legalisation of hardcore pornography, a legalisation that was logically inevitable once that economic system had been accepted, is the Blair Government's most abiding legacy to the culture of this country.

Thank goodness that neither party is any longer led by people with any time at all for Tony Blair.

If these sites can be identified for the purpose of requiring age verification, then they can be identified for the purpose of blocking them altogether.

Tom Watson, over to you.