In praise of Tony Blair...

It's not often I agree with Tony Blair - but his comments on the riots in the Observer (if the Beeb report is accurate) seem spot on.

Blair pointed to a group of people 'outside the social mainstream and who live in a culture at odds with any canons of proper behaviour'.

'Focus on the specific problem and we can begin on a proper solution'

'Elevate this into a highfalutin wail about a Britain that has lost its way morally and we will depress ourselves unnecessarily, trash our own reputation abroad, and worst of all, miss the chance to deal with the problem in the only way that will work.'

It's a clear attack on Cameron's reactionary 'Broken Britain' nonsense and also vaguely Scottish in its use of 'highfalutin'.

It's a line I hope the Deputy PM takes up.