WE do not envy the role of the courts in sentencing a 13-year-old boy convicted of dealing in child pornography.

The seriousness of the offence and the age of the offender are difficult to balance.

On reflection the court probably arrived at the appropriate sentence.

To be automatically placed on the sex offenders' register must be traumatic for any young teenager to contemplate. Coupled with that lasting stigma, a rehabilitation course is a sensible course of action for the court ton take.

This case has potential repercussions for our wider society. This boy was after all described by the judge as an "unwitting victim". His family environment is secure.

It is a matter of grave concern that a child can become embroiled in the vile and sordid world of paedophilia.

While the Internet and the communications revolution have brought so many advantages to the modern world, they have created many dangers.

With freedom of information must come responsibility.

This case is a salutary reminder to all parents of the need to monitor their children's use of the Internet, and make them aware of the offensive and degrading material that can be quite easily accessed through a computer.

It also demonstrates the depths of depravity within the Internet rings which peddle child pornography.

The victims in this case are the 13-year-old boy and, of course, the children who feature in the pornographic images.

The real villains are those who peddle this evil trade from the relative security and obscurity of their own homes.

No efforts must be spared by the relevant authorities in tracking down these criminals and bringing them to justice.

TONY Blair's apparent support for the Barnett Formula, which guarantees better funding for Scotland and Wales than for the English regions, is hugely disappointing.

For New Labour to stick with a mechanism devised almost a quarter of a century ago beggars belief.

The North-East has lost, or is losing, its traditional mainstay industries such as coal mining, shipbuilding and steel making.

Scotland has its own Parliament and Wales its own assembly, giving both nations an opportunity to carve out their own future.

Politically and economically the map of Britain has changed dramatically since the Barnett Formula was devised, and it is time the allocation of state aid reflected those changes.