Bad timing

It's a shame that Peter's just gone on a holiday from blogging as I'm sure many of us would love to hear his views on the new Tory policy on sex education:

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary and a Tory moderniser, will underline the change of tack by visiting a clinic run by a charity for lesbians and gay people in Manchester this week.

Dismissing calls for US-style abstinence education which encourages teenagers to pledge to remain virgins, Lansley said yesterday that a national network of school nurses - giving unbiased advice about sex - would be introduced if the Tories won power. He also backs moves to issue over-the-counter tests for chlamydia, one of the most common infections which can cause infertility...

The plans may upset family values campaigners and more traditional Tories, who argue that both sex education and more readily available sexual health services only encourages teenagers.