We hadn't been to London in many years, so we were gratified that so many of the beautiful things we remembered about the city hadn't changed at all.

Of course, some things have changed. Perhaps most disturbingly, Londoners are apparently turning to Rupert Murdoch's Page 3 Girls for their conservative political commentary these days.

Nineteen-year-old Ami, for example, states in the April 26 edition of The Sun that she is "outraged" that Tony Blair's government has allowed "so many foreign criminals ... to roam the streets instead of being deported."

In other recent editions, Becky, 24, complains that "the loans-for-peerages row has only made people question the work of the government more" and topless lesbians Beck and Mel weigh in on the ongoing sex scandal involving government official John Prescott.

Bloggerheads has the latest here and some background on Page 3 wonkery here. As the blog explains:

In Ye Olde Days, the topless models on Page 3 were accompanied by just enough insight and innuendo to allow the average reader to identify with the model ... Were the model training to be an accountant, the text would playfully refer to her "ample assets" and the "bottom line". Had she been a vet's assistant or even the owner of a small domestic animal, the caption would suggest that "She also brings the beast out in us, eh readers?"...

Under the new editor, Rebekah Wade, this changed. Pictures of Page 3 models were soon accompanied by a caption entitled "News in Briefs" ... With the new Page 3, they can deliver a highly focused and personalised editorial that sticks in the brain in a very personal and special way...

The central issue is the exploitation of these women -- and The Sun's readership -- in a way that not even Orwell could have imagined in his wettest dream.

We'd normally conclude this post with an incisive comment on the ironic alliance of right-wing politics and soft-core pornography -- but we're still a little foggy from the trip.

Technorati tags: Journalism, PR, Spin, Media