Battleangel

Britain and the march towards genetic determinism. Not so much an ideological issue of whether the state should get involved in everyday life, but rather a mind-blowingly dangerous display of something that frankly smacks of pseudoscience and borders on determinism. Not to mention the frivolous and continuous use of meaningless phrases like “antisocial behaviour”. It must be hard diagnosing something that doesn’t exist, scientifically speaking, and therein lies the brilliance.

Tony Blair has said it is possible to identify problem children who could grow up to be a potential “menace to society” even before they are born.

Setting out plans for state intervention to prevent babies born into high-risk families becoming problem teenagers of the future, the prime minister said teenage mothers could be forced to accept state help before giving birth, as part of a clampdown on antisocial behaviour.

Mr Blair defended the need for state intervention and said action could even be taken “pre-birth” if necessary as families with drug and alcohol problems were being identified too late.