“You’ve got to make youngsters aware of the undesirability of having sex at 12,” he said.He sought to avoid John Major’s mistake of calling for Britain to “go back to basics”, saying his initiative “doesn’t mean you revisit a whole series of old prejudices. People want to live in a society that is without prejudice, but is with rules. Government can play its part, but parents have to play their part. There’s got to be a partnership between government and country to lay the foundations of that moral purpose.”Mr Blair was short on specifics but suggested that sex education could help Britain cut the number of teenage pregnancies, the highest in Europe. His comments came as David Blunkett, the Education and Employment Secretary, floated the idea of Government cash handouts at 18 to give youngsters a start in life.
Mr Blair said in a newspaper interview he was “appalled” by last week’s revelations that two 12-year-old girls in South Yorkshire have become pregnant, saying: “We have to prevent this in future”.The Prime Minister said: “We need to find a new national moral purpose for this new generation. Ewan McGregor, star of Star Wars: the Phantom Menace, is ranked fourth, followed by the relatively unknown Sacha Baron Cohen, aka Ali G, the spoof hip-hop character from Channel Four’s The 11 O’clock Show, and pop star Robbie Williams.. TONY BLAIR vowed yesterday to launch a new “moral crusade” for the young generation and expressed his concern at Britain’s high number of teenage pregnancies.

He will be paid pounds 13m to appear in his next movie, Sprockets, as an avante-garde German chat show host called Dieter.The poll, which reflects a star’s popularity, has a strongly British flavour. and its predecessor, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.He said: “People are impressed about Myers having total creative control over his films. Austin Powers is seen as an alternative product, in which Myers has allowed his imagination to run riot, rather than simply being controlled by a Hollywood studio. I don’t think it is any surprise that others at the top of the survey, like Kidman and Madonna, are also seen as being in control.”The film’s success – it has taken more than pounds 21m in Britain, and pounds 130m in the US – has propelled Myers into the “superstar” pay bracket. Some critics branded the seemingly non-stop sight gags and toilet humour as puerile, but fans have had no such doubts.Neil Stevenson, deputy editor of Heat, said part of Myers’ appeal among film enthusiasts was that he was seen as the creative force behind The Spy Who … The findings, which cap an extraordinary rise for the Canadian comedian, are revealed after a poll of 6,000 of the magazine’s readers and 44 British entertainment luminaries.
He also beat Nicole Kidman, whose latest film Eyes Wide Shut premiered in Britain this weekend, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves, none of whom even make the top 10.

HIS DRESS sense may be synonymous with bad taste, his teeth undeniably gawky, but Mike Myers has acquired that most elusive of qualities: box office megastardom. The star of the summer’s surprise box office hit is now the hottest property in showbusiness, shows a survey of entertainment lovers and the industry’s movers and shakers. Industry observers are taken aback by the second Austin Powers film, which knocked the Star Wars blockbuster off the top of box office charts on both sides of the Atlantic .The film, in which Myers plays both the eponymous, geekily dressed hero and his arch-nemesis, Dr Evil, pokes fun at James Bond and other 1960s favourites such as the Carry on series of films and The Avengers. Myers, whose film Austin Powers: the Spy who Shagged Me has grossed pounds 150m, surpasses even superstars Madonna and Will Smith for box-office credibility, says the entertainment magazine Heat. “I am trying my hardest not to even contemplate the possibility that I could be made to leave the only place I know as home,” he said..

Having done so, I am afraid I am not persuaded it would be right to revoke the deportation order made against Mr James.”Mr James, 30, who is represented by barrister Stephanie Harrison, said previous adjudications made against him were based on the false assumption that he had made up a story of being abandoned, a fact no longer in dispute.He has been told to report to the official in charge of the court cells before the hearing. Mr Straw had been petitioned by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union who took a close interest in the case and invited Mr James to the Home Office to meet them.But the Home Secretary wrote: “I have personally reviewed all the circumstances of Mr James’ case in the context of the judicial review and in the light of both your own representations and those from others. He will be supported by a second barrister, Mark Bishop.Earlier this year, the appointment of Mr Sales, 35, as Treasury Devil led to a discrimination case brought by a female barrister against the Attorney General John Morris.There were claims that the post, officially titled First Counsel to the Treasury, was linked to the fact that Mr Sales – who is one of Britain’s most able young lawyers – had worked at Lord Irvine’s former chambers at 11, King’s Bench Walk.The Home Secretary is involved in a bitter war of words with his opposite number Ann Widdecombe and the Conservative leader William Hague, who have accused the government of making Britain a “soft” touch for illegal immigrants.The Conservatives have seized on an outbreak of violence between asylum seekers and residents in Dover to force the immigration issue to the top of the political agenda and Mr Straw wanted to be seen to take a tough stance.He recently wrote to members of the Home Office’s staff union to say he had “personally reviewed” the case of Mr James and wanted to continue with the deportation. But Mr Straw rejected all representations and appointed Philip Sales, a close friend of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, and the government’s chief advocate in the courts, to argue the Home Office case. Nigerian-born Ben James, abandoned by his parents 16 years ago while a pupil at a private school in London, makes his final plea to be allowed to remain before a High Court judge on Wednesday.
Mr James, who has no close friends or relatives in Africa, has won extraordinary backing for his anti-deportation campaign, supporters including the Minister for Public Health, Tessa Jowell, who is his MP, and the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, Sir Herman Ouseley.