Papers ponder portrayal of children

It might be traditional for MPs to be photographed holding babies at election time but it seems the use of children in this campaign is causing some anguish.

The Tories are giving the impression that "Kids are Vile" The Mirror claims.

The paper objects strongly to the party's election broadcast last night, which depicted school pupils dealing in drugs, shoplifting and setting a car on fire.

"There has never been a greater slur on the young people of this country," the paper's editorial declares.

'Scare tactics'

The Guardian agrees, accusing the Tories of resorting to "scare tactics" in an attempt to blunt Labour's reputation on education.

The Mirror claims the spin doctors behind the video were "dunces".

Not so, counters The Times.

The advertisements, it says, are "a perfect example of sophisticated news management that deserves the Peter Mandelson Prize for media manipulation".

By courting controversy the images have now been re-shown just as intended on numerous other media outlets.

And indeed more positive images of children draw less comment.

Only The Independent notes that the Liberal Democrats' second election broadcast showed pupils working diligently.

And the appearance of the teenage soprano, Charlotte Church, on the Labour platform in Bristol on Thursday appears just in The Times.

The same paper reports the appeal by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York for debates about values, rather than negative campaigning.

The Times says the Archbishops are understood to be deeply concerned by the invective used by both Labour and Conservative parties in the election.

'Drunk hooked on booze'

The Independent casts aspersions on the morals of the beleaguered company Railtrack, comparing its need for extra government subsidies to a "drunk hooked on booze".

It claims its latest demand for £2.6bn shows it has "blackmail down to a fine art", a suggestion Austin uses for his cartoon in The Guardian.

An angry Railtrack boss stands over a woman tied to a track shouting into his mobile "send the money or the shareholder gets it".

The Daily Express comments that Railtrack's losses come as "no surprise" and insists that "we cannot continue to leave our rail network in private hands".

'Political naivety'

The decision of Senator James Jeffords to leave the Republican party is described by many of the papers as a "blow" for President Bush.

"Never before has control of the Senate changed parties other than through an election," The Daily Mail observes.

The Financial Times suggests it shows the White House's "political naivety" in not appreciating "the gravity of Mr Jefford's threat".

But The Daily Telegraph says that although Jefford's defection represents "a serious reversal", it does not "imperil the main elements of the Bush programme".

The White House might wish to soothe their furrowed brows with a ploy that it is hoped will dissuade clubbers in Leicester from getting involved in punch-ups after closing time.

The Times reports that four clubs in the city are to get their DJs at the end of the night to play children's television theme tunes such as The Magic Roundabout.

Zebedee will tell them, The Star says, that "it's time for bed".