Total cock, but I think it points to a deeper problem in Britain, and beyond. When did compassion, the normal core of the human condition, become pprtrayed as such a naff, stupid idea. I know that when people are confronted directly with suffering in reality, they will generally sacrifice a lot to lessen it, but our policy at a distance almost pretends that it's actually a bit embarrassing to care directly what happens to other people. That is the attitude that compels slugs like Cameron to find euphemisms for compassion. We don't help the homeless because we care about them directly, but because it benefits the economy and encourages growth. Our foreign aid is not about feeding people who need it, but it stabilises the world and indirectly benefits us. Those who talk about the fact that we are helping people that really need help often kind of mumble it, as if it is a vague ethical benefit rather than a core principle of being a good person.

The thing is that if you put an injured person on the road in front of Farage, bleeding out, I'm sure his humanity would kick in and he would tear off his own cravat as a bandage, but the more remote idea of someone dying of AIDS when they could easily be helped is just met with an apologetic shrug and "we have to look after our own". If he was stood in front of someone suffering, holding what they need to end their suffering, would he hand it over in spite of the cost to himself? I think he would, it's just that suffering as an distant, abstract concept or a bunch of statistics is nothing compared to the reality of someone in need. If he could really smell the denying of HIV treatment to someone, and look it in the eyes, I'd like to think that he would be human enough to change his mind. Maybe not, but it's just disheartening to think that anyone could that callous.