Dogwash

Emma Thompson, it would appear, is not too keen on the 'sloppy' language used by kids today. Well, she is 51, innit. By the time she gets to my age, she'll probably be, lahk, demanding the death penalty for double negatives.

So BBC Breakfast decided to illustrate the news item with a visit to a West London school, where the kids are invited to provide samples of their current slang. All very interesting, but get over it Emma, girl. Kids always invent their own cryptolects to exclude adults and assert their independence. Most grow out of it when they have to deal with the grown-up world in earnest.

But there's a consolation available for Emma in the BBC's package. Remember her earlier outburst, when Exeter and its university proved altogether too hideously White for her Rwandan adoptive son's peace of mind? Well, I'm sure she'll be suitably overjoyed by the ethnic composition of the class who were quizzed about their slang on this morning's show: