He was awarded a knighthood.Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, has recently entered the debate. He contends that the police are over-zealous in charging people with offences such as assault when they seek to defend their property with violence. The law is plain enough: it allows a citizen to use "reasonable force" against an attacker or burglar. No one knows yet whether Nick Baungartner, the businessman involved at the weekend in a fatal struggle with a burglar, will be charged over the intruder's death. Indeed, legal precedent is extremely grey on the question of self-defence and protection of property.

Everyone admires the plucky citizen who wrestles the villain to the ground. We all wonder how we would react to the intruder trying to burgle our house or break into our car. At a time when the police seem unable to control crime, and fear of violence is increasing, acts of individual courage carry particular appeal They offer hope that good will overcome evil But tackling criminals can go wrong Heroes can end up dead They can also find themselves in the dock. Late developers suffered from being stuck in the wrong school. And the less able received low-quality education.The current system of determining who goes to which school is not ideal. But the Government's proposals are not going to improve the situation.

Most parents' biggest concern is how to get their child into an over-subscribed popular school and avoid the sink school down the road. Mr Major would do better to focus on expanding good schools and improving bad ones rather than encouraging social selection.. At least the 11-plus purported to offer an objective way to discriminate between pupils by presenting everyone with the same independent test. And it was a considerably more meritocratic way of determining access to the best schools than the current system, where your chance of a good education depends on the area you live in or your parents' ability to pay school fees.The problem with the 11-plus, lest we forget, is that it produced a form of academic apartheid At the age of 11, all too many pupils were branded for life. Each school could build up its own distinctive virtues, whether it be academic achievement, religious commitment or excellence in music or art. But the benefits that might accrue from such a wide range of choices for parents are outweighed by the dangers inherent in the kind of social selection that is being canvassed.Had the Government suggested selection on the basis of ability, it might have a stronger case. The children who are already confident and socially at ease will have a great advantage over the shy, the retiring, the awkward or the socially inhibited child, no matter what their academic potential.There is one possible advantage in allowing schools to determine their admissions procedures.