This government is database mad. They are evil, insidious, controlling, authoritarian, devious, corrupt, underhanded and duplicitous.

They now have a database (called ContactPoint, at a development cost of some ���£224 million) which lists the name, address and date of birth of every child in England, along with the names and addresses of their parents and GPs, and contact details for their schools.

Accountant firm Deloitte and Touche have called on the government to scrap the database as they have said it could never be secured.

Considering the gleaming track record that this government has for not losing the personal data of its citizens, I’m sure the details of all our children will be safe in their hands, and won’t be lost in the post on a couple of unencrypted CDs, or downloaded and sold to criminals, for example.

Oh, and while I’m on a rant about this, why only children in England? Why won’t Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish children be lined up, numbered, and catalogued?