Muammar Al Khadafi

It is a fact which cannot have escaped many - the huge number of young men who are involved in criminal actions, on some occasions violence, who wear denim jeans.

The link is almost inescapable. Look outside and busy pub or club at chucking out time, and among those heckling and tussling with each-other, most in various states of inebriation, many if not all will be wearing jeans. Look for yourself at football match violence, jeans again.

In recognition of this fact one would think that there is substantial evidence to suggest that the banning of denim jeans in all public places would be highly beneficial to the social order and wellbeing of the UK as a whole.

By bringing in such a ban the disorder on our streets and the crime rate would drop drastically.

Youth, instead of strutting around in baggy jeans that hang down so far you could probably throw a dart in there and hit the bullseye, would be forced to wear trousers, just like the law abiding and hard working older generations.

Insted of being divided from the rest of society by their choice of clothing which marks them out as young and different, they would become a better integrated and less intimidating part of our society.

The changes which such a clothing change could bring might well be astonishing. Imagine it, instead of going out on a Saturday night wearing his jeans, getting drunk, and looking for a fight and kebab on the way home, young Jack Average may become a regular sight wearing cords and helping out the local elderly on their allotments.

Instead of loitering on street corners, playing nervously with whatever pointy object hides in his deep pockets whilst looking for someone to mug, young Joe Normal might suddenly develop an interest in computing and work to acquire a skill in programming should he be forced to ditch those baggy jeans and don a nice pair of cotton slacks.

By now you're wondering what this writer has been taking today and probably thinking of calling for the men in white coats - but, hold on a minute, there is a serious point about to come.

Everything I've written above is rubbish, none of this will happen just because jeans are banned, it won't alter peoples behaviour one bit.

Now, look around Europe, where Burka bans seem to be becoming the trend, with Italy the latest nation to pass draft legislation which would see the burka outlawed.

Are our denim jeans beginning to make sense now?

You can ban denim jeans - or burkas - and it will make no difference whatsoever to the fundamental, underlying problems. They will still exist, just they will be clad in different clothing.

A ban on the burka is cosmetic only.

Anyone thinking it will in any way solve the problems which the West faces from Islam, other than removing the visual spectacle of streets thronging with women clad in burkas, is very much mistaken.