Tory leader: Curb sex education

Iain Duncan Smith called for the state to relinquish more power to parents yesterday when he backed a new book advocating a ban on all "explicit" sex education, both gay and straight, for under-16s.

The Tory leader was giving his support to a toughening of the Section 28 ban on the promotion of homosexuality in schools as he launched There is Such a Thing as Society.

The book calls for Section 28 to apply to NHS trusts as well as local education authorities to ensure that pupils are not exposed to "harmful and unnecessarily explicit" material.

Mr Duncan Smith clarified his position during a speech at the launch of the new book, published by the Renewing One Nation think-tank. "Few things matter more than a parent's instinct to protect his or her children," he said.

As well as an introduction by the Tory leader, the book quotes him attacking current government sex eduction policy for "undermining parental authority". It argues that far from repealing Section 28, as the Scottish Parliament has done, ministers should be extending it to cover the promotion of explicit homosexual and heterosexual activity.

The issue of Section 28 is due to return to Parliament this autumn when the Government attempts to repeal the controversial clause of Margaret Thatcher's 1988 Local Government Act.

The Tories are deeply divided over the subject, with modernisers keen on abolition and traditionalists determined to retain what they claim is a valuable protection for children. The move to extend the ban is among the ideas being considered by the Conservative leader as a way of protecting children and the rights of parents without stigmatising homosexuals.

But one liberal shadow cabinet member said the move would be seen as even more hardline by the public. "It's garbage," the MP said.