Turn autoplay off

Turn autoplay on

Please activate cookies in order to turn autoplay off

A pair of boys torture two of their peers to the brink of death just to pass the time "“ the horror of the thing almost defies comprehension. But the facts of the Edlington case also command attention. The society where such a thing happens must search itself for explanations.

That needn't mean condemning society in political terms. After the boys' trial last week, David Cameron was quick to extrapolate widespread social dereliction from their case, and blame the government for it. British society, Mr Cameron says, is "broken".

It is probably asking too much of an opposition leader that he refrain from riding waves of moral outrage....