SARAH VINE: Why on earth do men send very intimate photographs to strangers?

At the risk of sounding like an aged aunt peering at the modern world through her eyeglass, pearls firmly clutched in one hand, scented handkerchief in the other, what is wrong with people these days?

Specifically, that young Conservative fellow, the gay one, Willy someone-or-other, who used the internet to send ‘intimate’ pictures of himself to someone he’d never met and who turned out to be a honeytrap blackmailing scumbag.

Ye gods, as my grandmother would have said, how different from the home life of our own dear (departed) Queen.

The fact that he is (soon to be ‘was’, I suspect) a member of Parliament is of course shocking, and the reason the story is all over the news.

One expects better, etc. Though God knows why: if a lifetime spent in and around politics and politicians has taught me anything, it’s that they are just as prone – if not more so – to the temptations that from time to time assail us all.

Money, sex, drink, drugs: very few are immune, except perhaps William Hague, who is the one politician I’ve ever met who genuinely seems to have no vices (unless you count being stupendously smug and self-satisfied). And maybe Ann Widdecombe. The rest are just as susceptible as the next person.

That young Conservative fellow, the gay one, Willy someone-or-other, who used the internet to send ‘intimate’ pictures of himself to someone he’d never met and who turned out to be a honeytrap blackmailing scumbag. Pictured: William Wragg

Money, sex, drink, drugs: very few are immune, except perhaps William Hague, (pictured) who is the one politician I’ve ever met who genuinely seems to have no vices

Years ago, when my ex was briefly Conservative chief whip, most of his time was taken up dealing with parliamentary peccadillos, some so bizarre they defied belief.

It was quite an eye-opener.

Succumbing to temptation after a few lemonades on a night out, I can understand – especially given the intense pressures of the job. Long hours, late nights, chemistry: it’s easy to see how a chap (or chapette) might lose their head, especially when faced with the enticements of a professional trickster (as this seems to be).

But exposing oneself over the internet – that, I’m afraid, just baffles me.

Let’s face it, the male human reproductive organ is not the most photogenic of appendages. Arguably, the female equivalent even less so. But, for some reason, women are not nearly as prone as men to capturing their nether regions on camera.

This may have something to do with the fact that the male anatomy is somewhat more readily accessible than the female.

Still: what the hell is wrong with them? Though I’ve never had the displeasure of being sent a ‘d*** pic’, probably because I’m at an age where I am technically invisible to most men (and waiters), I’m led to believe that – solicited or otherwise – they, or variations thereof, are common currency. To me, this is simply unfathomable. How hopelessly narcissistic – or deluded – can anyone be to think others want to see a picture of their dangly bits?

I suppose it’s vaguely possible for a gym-honed Adonis, but invariably these people are not like this, and certainly not this particular MP.

Succumbing to temptation after a few lemonades on a night out, I can understand – especially given the intense pressures of the job.But exposing oneself over the internet – that, I’m afraid, just baffles me. Pictured: File photo

But it’s not just that. I grew up in a pre-image-obsessed age, when only models and famous people had their photo taken. The rest of us were only very occasionally in front of the camera, in school photos, at birthdays, weddings or Christmas-time, maybe at the beach or on holiday, or in some dreaded passport picture. Grinning like idiots, red-eyed and ungainly – unlike today’s Instagram-savvy youngsters who snap into all their best angles the second anyone whips out a smartphone. None of us had any idea what to do in front of the lens, hence why we all looked so hilariously awful. But we were, at least, authentic. And far less prone to narcissistic self-obsession.

We weren’t brought up to spend hours staring at our reflections in the tiny electronic pool everyone now holds.

Certainly, vanity of the kind it takes to send a picture of arguably the least attractive part of one’s anatomy to someone for anything other than urgent medical reasons was not so widespread.

But it’s not just that.

It’s also a porn thing. Internet porn – free, unregulated and uncensored – has changed much about society, and none of it for the better. In particular, porn glorifies, encourages and – crucially – normalises forceful male sexual behaviour, and perpetuates the myth that however much the object of desire may pretend not to be interested in the male and his anatomy, in reality they can’t get enough of it.

In other words, in the land of hardcore, the one-eyed trouser-snake is king.

And this is what’s really at the heart of not just the MP’s case, but also the growing reports of women receiving unsolicited images.

Ultimately, why is anyone surprised that a generation of men raised on internet porn thinks it normal to expose themselves in this way?

Not me, that’s for sure.

An unidentified mother cries out during a demonstration with others who have daughters among the kidnapped school girls of government secondary school Chibok in 2014

Never forget the Nigerian girls 

Today sees a grim anniversary: six months on from the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas terrorists raped and murdered almost 1,200 Israelis and abducted around 250, including 30 children. 

But next week marks an equally dark milestone in the annals of Islamist terrorism: a decade since the Chibok school kidnapping in Nigeria. 

On a night in April 2014, members of Boko Haram abducted 276 teenage girls gathered for a physics exam. 

A few escaped, but the vast majority were taken as sex slaves and forced to marry jihadists. The fates of more than 100 of the girls are still unknown. 

My heart goes out to their families – and to the victims and families of the October 7 atrocities. I pray to God they do not suffer a similar fate. 

It has been suggested that Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen’s marriage was in trouble before actress Rebel Wilson described him as an ‘a**hole’. 

Still, there’s something distasteful about the way Wilson seems to be revelling in the attention, especially given how ‘friends’ of Fisher say Wilson’s accusations were ‘a catalyst’ in her decision to announce their split. 

Let’s not forget this is a family break-up, with three children involved. Maybe dial down the gloating just a touch? 

It has been suggested that Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen’s (pictured) marriage was in trouble before actress Rebel Wilson described him as an ‘a**hole’ 

Still, there’s something distasteful about the way Wilson (pictured) seems to be revelling in the attention

Let it go, you two 

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are at each other’s throats again. Who knows what the truth is about their rows? 

One thing is for sure: the only people to benefit when divorce disputes rumble on forever like this are lawyers. 

As someone who is happily divorced and still great friends with my children’s father, take it from me: far better (and cheaper) to just let go with love – and move on. 

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are at each other’s throats again. Who knows what the truth is about their rows? Pictured: Together in 2015

Wisely, Scottish police said they would not arrest J.K. Rowling, on suspicion of breaking the new hate crime law, despite her tweets claiming that several trans women were, in fact, men. 

This is known as ‘misgendering’, something the SNP had argued could lead to someone being investigated. 

Either SNP ministers did not understand their own legislation (imagine!), or the police reckoned that arresting J.K. would simply make them less popular and her more so. 

Either way, it served to underline the courage of Rowling, who has, ironically, shown herself to be a woman with balls of steel. 

Wisely, Scottish police said they would not arrest J.K. Rowling (pictured) on suspicion of breaking the new hate crime law

Thanks to London’s loathsome mayor Sadiq Khan, the capital’s speed limit is now almost universally 20mph. 

This means that motorists are constantly being overtaken by e-bikes, e-scooters and other plug-in paraphernalia travelling at 30, sometimes 35mph. 

I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t that none of these vehicles are licensed or insured, nor do they pay road tax or parking fees. When will Mr Khan’s road apartheid end? 

Two officers have rightly been fired and face prosecution after seven aid workers were killed in Israeli missile strikes in the Gaza strip. 

Hamas fighters who raped, mutilated and murdered innocent civilians on October 7 should also face the consequences of their actions. But of course they will not. 

And that is the difference between soldiers and terrorists, and why Israel – despite the propaganda war being waged against it – deserves our continued support in this ugly conflict.