Tories told: Don't mention 'family values'

Shadow cabinet ministers have been banned from speaking about "family values" or "personal morality" at the Tory conference, following the disclosure of John Major's affair with Edwina Currie.

Conservative Central Office, desperate to limit the damage from the exposure of the romance, issued the order in a memo to frontbench speakers at next week's gathering in Bournemouth. Ministers were told that any suggestion they are dictating how people should conduct their private lives could backfire. Speakers are being told to stick closely to areas of policy to avoid accusations of hypocrisy if they venture into sensitive areas. The texts of speeches will be vetted by party chiefs.

The moves are an effort to avoid a repetition of the public relations disaster of the mid-1990s, when Mr Major's "back to basics" appeal was wrecked by the revelation of a series of affairs involving high-profile Tories.

To party chiefs' relief, neither Ms Currie nor Mr Major will attend the conference. But the leaders admit thatplans to use the meeting to project a more modern image have been ruined.

The New Statesman, which lost a libel action brought by Mr Major over claims that he had had an affair with a Downing Street caterer, renewed its threat yesterday to sue him for costs.

Further reports, page 8