Tories pledge sex health campaign

Mr Howard said sexual health was a national priority

The Tories say a major publicity blitz, like the 1980s Aids campaign, is needed to reverse an "epidemic" of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

If elected, the party says it would encourage youngsters to resist peer pressure to have sex, but denies plans for a US-style abstinence campaign.

STIs like HIV, gonorrhoea and Chlamydia "have doubled", Conservative leader Michael Howard said.

The government pledged to reduce STIs in its Public Health White Paper.

'Bold campaign'

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This would involve a new national campaign aimed at those at greatest risk, and the rolling out of Chlamydia screening across England by 2007.

Last year the Health Protection Agency said cases of Chlamydia - the most common sexually transmitted infection - jumped by 9%.

It is no exaggeration to say that in Britain today we face a sexually transmitted diseases epidemic Michael Howard In full: Howard's sexual health plans

About 10% of UK adults have had an STI and 13% have visited a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic.

Mr Howard said a Conservative government would use its past experience of running a drive to raise awareness of Aids to run a "clear, bold and very public" campaign.

"Mr Blair may not think sexual health is a national priority, but I do," he said.

"It's not an issue that can or should be swept under the carpet - it should be tackled directly.

"It is no exaggeration to say that in Britain today we face a sexually transmitted diseases epidemic.

"Gonorrhoea has doubled. Chlamydia has doubled. HIV has more than doubled. We have the worst rates of sexual health since records began."

And he promised that if his party won the next general election - widely predicted to be called for 5 May - it would ensure money for sexual health services reached the "front line".

The Lib Dems, at their 2003 conference, backed calls for compulsory sex education lessons for children as young as seven to help reduce rising teenage pregnancies and STIs.