LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday the state should intervene early -- possibly even before birth -- to stop the children of problem families growing up into troublemakers.
One think-tank said the idea, the latest step in Blair's drive against crime and anti-social behaviour in Britain, verged on "genetic determinism".
In his first
interview since returning from a Caribbean holiday, Blair told the BBC that teenage mothers could be required to accept state assistance with bringing up their children and could face sanctions if they refused.
Intervention might even be needed "pre-birth", he said.
"If we are not prepared to predict and intervene far more early then there are children that are going to grow up in families that we know perfectly well are completely dysfunctional, and the kids a few years down the line are going to be a menace to society and actually a threat to themselves," Blair said.
Blair is seeking to put the focus on his policies to try to halt a slump in his government's popularity and shift media attention away from the question of when he will step down in favour of his expected successor, Chancellor Gordon Brown.
He said the government could say to an unmarried teenage mother who was not in a stable relationship:
"Here is the support we are prepared to offer you, but we do need to keep a careful watch on you and how your situation is developing because all the indicators are that your type of situation can lead to problems in the future."
Anastasia de Waal, of social policy think-tank Civitas, was quoted on the BBC's Web site as saying: "It is teetering on genetic determinism this kind of saying that before children are even born they are labelled as problematic."
Oliver Letwin, policy director for the Conservatives, slammed Blair's idea, saying more state intervention and bureaucracy were not the answer.
"The only realistic way forward lies with social enterprise, charities and voluntary groups. It is no good the government simply trying to run peoples' lives," he said in a statement.
Blair, who led his Labour Party to a third successive election win last year, has said he will not seek a fourth term.
