Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

In defence of fairy tales

Getty Images 
issue 03 December 2022

One by one, life’s harmless little pleasures are outlawed by an overweening, repressive government. The Online Safety Bill has been doctored by MPs to stop people making use of ‘deep fakes’. This means that my enjoyable pursuit of Photoshopping the heads of politicians I dislike onto the naked, writhing bodies of Russian porn stars and sending the resultant images, anonymously, on Christmas cards to members of the local clergy is now illegal. In future I will have to get the consent of each politician before I send them off to the vicar. I had a great one recently of Liz Truss going at it like the clappers with Mark Drakeford, the First Minister for Wales. It seems to me harmless fun and if discovered could surely only improve Mr Drake-ford’s image and poll ratings, although he does not seem to me the kind of chap who could take a joke.

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