The Government has proposed a controversial Children’s Index, a database which will hold detailed files on millions of children with the aim of detecting signs of abuse.

Critics of the scheme claim it is a potentially unlawful invasion of privacy, voicing concerns that paedophiles could exploit the system to gain sensitive details about vulnerable children.

Do you think the proposal is likely to succeed in protecting children? Or is it just another example of the nanny state invading our privacy?

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The Royal Mail has claimed that it relies on earnings from junk mail companies to such an extent that it would have to raise postal charges without it.

Returning unwanted junk mail to the sender could scupper this line of business and ultimately lead to higher postal costs.

How much does junk mail annoy you? Is it more or less problematic than computer-generated Spam?

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David Cameron has made another break with his party's past by declaring that Margaret Thatcher was wrong to describe Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress as terrorists during the struggle against apartheid in the 1980s.

Few now deny that the collapse of the racist South African regime was a good thing, but Mr Cameron's remarks amount to a deliberate rejection of the world view of his most famous recent predecessor.

Is he right to apologise for one of the more embarrassing passages in Conservative history?

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Two weighty topics dominated readers’ comments this week, provoking debate that went to the core of how Britain defines itself: history, and immigration.

The Battle of Britain, a symbol of national defiance and hard-fought success, came in for historical revisionism as researchers claimed the victory was really clinched by the navy rather than the RAF.

“Poppycock,” fumed some readers, while others agreed that the role of the rest of the armed forces had indeed been underplayed.

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The Battle of Britain was not won by the RAF but by the Royal Navy, military historians have concluded, provoking outrage among the war's surviving fighter pilots.

Challenging the "myth" that Spitfires and Hurricanes held off the German invaders in 1940, the monthly magazine History Today has concluded that it was the might of the Navy that stood between Britain and Nazi occupation.

What is your opinion of this conclusion? Do you think its is plausible that the most famous RAF victory of British history was really won at sea?

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Posted at: 14:00 | Permalink | Comments 84

This year's GCSEs have shown one of the biggest increases on record in students getting top grades, but debate on the nature and purpose of secondary education rages on.

The results are likely to reflect a sharp decline in the study of foreign languages, leading to concerns young people will miss out in the international jobs market.

Boris Johnson has lamented the declining popularity of physics, while Cambridge has warned potential applicants away from studying “soft” A-levels such as media or business studies.

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Cherie Blair and George W Bush have both eschewed typical light holiday reading this summer in favour of worthier tomes.

Whereas Mrs Blair was pictured half way through the 800-page Postwar, an account of Europe’s recent history, President Bush got to grips with The Outsider, a philosophical novel by French intellectual Albert Camus.

What sort of reading do you prefer on holiday?

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 21

Nearly 447,000 immigrants have come to Britain from the eight former Communist countries which joined the EU in 2004, new Home Office figures have revealed.

The release of the figures, which cover the period from May 04 to June 06, comes just days after the Tories insisted that controls on immigration are necessary to stop a massive influx of migrant workers.

With Bulgaria and Romania the next states to join, possibly as early as January 2007, debate is now likely to focus on whether full UK work rights should be given to all new member countries, or whether there should be some restrictions.

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 179

Sir Ian Blair, the most senior policeman in Britain, has said that crime has fallen so sharply on London council estates that families feel confident leaving their front doors unlocked.

After visiting a Haringey tower block, the Metropolitan Police commissioner claimed that people now feel as safe as they did 25 years ago.

Do you agree with Sir Ian's rosy view of society, or is he exaggerating his force's achievements?

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“Who stole our Conservative Party - can we have it back please?”

This comment from Theo struck a chord with many this week as readers debated the core values of conservatism, David Cameron’s scheme to convert housing benefits into mortgages, as well as the decriminalisation of cannabis and plans to pardon World War I soldiers shot for cowardice.

David Cameron published a manifesto of key Tory aims and values entitled “Built to Last” which disappointed the more traditional wing of the party, prompting us to ask readers what they would put on the Conservative agenda.

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David Cameron wants to revolutionise home ownership by allowing every social housing tenant the chance to convert their benefits into mortgage payments.

Under the proposals, unemployed people would be able to use housing benefit to build up equity in their homes.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats dismissed the idea as a muddled rehashing of the Tories’ “right to buy" scheme, while other critics warned it would deplete the stock of affordable housing and exacerbate the property crisis.

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 41

David Cameron has released an expanded statement of the Conservative Party’s core aims and values in a bid to quash Tory discontent over his “woolly” policy agenda.

The document, entitled “Built to Last,” sets out more than 50 policy proposals including "flatter and simpler" taxes, a "huge increase" in drug rehabilitation places for young offenders, "binding annual targets" for carbon emissions, less interference in the NHS and more “streaming and setting” in schools.

It looks likely to disappoint many on the Right, however, who want a more traditional Tory mix of tax cuts, tough talk on immigration and a strong Euro-sceptic tone.

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 83

Interest rates are rising, unemployment is at its highest level in six years, the Bank of England is worried that inflation is ballooning out of control, and record numbers of individuals are declaring themselves bankrupt. Not exactly encouraging “state of the nation” stuff.

Having propped up the economy with their plastic, consumers are now tucking away their store cards and retailers are feeling the pinch. Add fears about the US housing market and institutional investors’ ebbing confidence in the global economy, and the pessimists may be right. Britain’s economy could be in for a rough landing.

But is it all doom and gloom? Banks and other financial institutions are going from strength to strength, Britain’s manufacturing industry is growing, mortgages are as affordable as they have ever been, and more companies are reporting better-than-expected profits than warning on them. Compared with most European countries, the economy is fine fettle.

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All 306 soldiers of the First World War who were shot at dawn for cowardice or desertion will be granted posthumous pardons, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The decision has brought relief to families suffering years of stigma for the actions of men who, in modern terms, would probably have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and sent away from the front.

Some military historians, however, have argued that it is pointless to judge decisions made within a specific historical and moral perspective by modern standards.

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 93

A UN-brokered ceasefire has marked a halt in Israel’s five-week incursion into Lebanon, with Hizbollah forces claiming their resistance to the powerful Israeli army as a victory.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, has described the campaign as part of the broader ‘war on terror’ and defended Israel’s military gains.

While the war has killed scores of Hizbollah’s front-line troops and weakened their positions, it has also strengthened anti-Israel sentiment and assured the militant group of new recruits.

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 108

Most people would be happy to see the personal use of cannabis decriminalised or penalties for possession lowered to the status of a parking fine, according to one of the largest opinion surveys conducted on the issue.

However, the majority of the public is adamantly against any lessening of the restrictions on heroin or crack cocaine, drawing a clear distinction between so-called hard and soft drugs.

Do these findings reflect your own views?

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The biggest news of the week was a foiled terror plot to blow up planes departing from British airports, and unsurprisingly this story attracted the biggest volume of readers’ comments.

We asked whether the news would stop you from flying, and roughly 200 people responded – in the majority to give a resounding “no,” but also to debate some of the key issues surrounding the event.

“Since my brother escaped from the World Trade Centre disaster we all as a family have flown frequently between the USA,UK and South Africa and shall continue to do so - we will not be intimidated by terrorists and nor should anyone else who values freedom and democracy,” wrote Ursula Worlock.

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Posted at: 17:00 | Permalink | Comments 33

Security services have thwarted a major terrorist plot to blow up aircraft departing from Britain in mid-flight, with M15 raising the UK terror threat level to critical.

"This means that an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the UK," read a statement on the M15 website.

Will you avoid flying in the light of this news? Or do you plan to carry on as usual?

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Posted at: 10:30 | Permalink | Comments 269

Harrods has already set up its Christmas display to lure shoppers in from the heat of August with tinsel, baubles and novelty Santas.

Other shops are following suit, meaning the commercial run-up to Christmas this year has started more than four months before the day itself.

Is it too soon to think about Christmas? If so, when is a reasonable time to start?

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Posted at: 10:01 | Permalink | Comments 53

U2, the rock band fronted by outspoken third-world philanthropist Bono, has moved a portion of its multi-million-pound business empire out of Ireland for tax reasons.

Whereas Bono criticised the Irish government for not devoting more resources to developing countries, Irish Labour accused the band of shirking its social contract.

Only last month, computer magnate Bill Gates and tycoon Warren Buffet demonstrated the power of private philanthropy when they donated £32 billion to fight poverty and disease.

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Posted at: 10:01 | Permalink | Comments 27

As thousands of holiday-makers fly off for their summer breaks on bargain-basement fares, the Government has suggested raising taxes on air travel to dampen demand and curb pollution.

Emissions from air traffic have doubled since 1990 and are projected to quintuple as more and more Britons take advantage of cheap tickets to destinations that would have once been the preserve of the wealthy.

Is the Government right to raise taxes to protect the environment?

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The British public has put £54bn on credit cards and taken billions more in personal loans. Add on mortgages, and the nation's total household debt tops £1,000bn. The crunch is coming, but who's to blame?

Is it the banks, who clog up our letterboxes with junk mail inviting us to take endless credit, from which they make the kind of bumper profits seen this week? Liberal Democrat spokesman Vince Cable believes irresponsible lending is at least partially to blame.

Is it the Government, which has made debt a fact of life from the moment students go to university at the same time as making it less prohibitive to be declared bankrupt? Lloyds chief executive Eric Daniels thinks so, claiming there has been a "societal change" as people are encouraged to default. Or does responsibility lie entirely with the indivdual, who makes the ultimate decision, after all?

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Posted at: 13:00 | Permalink | Comments 164

The Home Office has shelved plans to give magistrates powers to imprison offenders for twice as long as at present.

Under the proposals, scrapped by John Reid, magistrates would have been allowed to hand down jail terms of up to 12 months for a single offence instead of the current maximum of six months.

Would giving magistrates greater powers help more cases to be dealt with quickly, benefiting defendants, victims and witnesses?

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Children should not start formal schooling until the age of seven, bringing the UK in line with many EU countries including Norway, an influential Labour MP has claimed.

Barry Sheerman, chairman of the Commons education select committee, called for a radical shift away from the focus on choice and towards a structure whereby pre-school education would last much longer.

Do you think there are advantages to allowing children to spend more time playing and learning social skills before formal education starts?

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