Technology has changed how predators operate. Now a raft of new offences will stop those who create heinous content escaping punishment

Technology moves fast. Legislation can be slow. For decades, that has felt like a fundamental fact of public life. But the gap between our laws and the world they are supposed to govern feels wider than ever. While the internet has transformed every element of our society, the state has not kept up.

Most of the laws that prohibit the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse imagery have been in place since the 1990s. Back then, Photoshop was in its infancy. The physical photographs that paedophiles shared were no less vile, but they were easier for the police to seize and destroy.

Peter Kyle is secretary of state for science, innovation and technology

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Critics accuse prime minister of pandering to Tripoli over migration after Osama Najim was freed despite an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes

After stepping off an aircraft belonging to the Italian secret services, Osama Najim was triumphantly carried on the shoulders of the crowd of supporters awaiting his arrival at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport.

Najim, also called Almasri, was not a footballer bringing home a trophy but a police chief wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including alleged murder, torture, enslavement, rape and sexual violence.

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