Kate from Croydon, come out with your hands on your head.

There is a rule among English tabloid editors that at any one time, there must be a female upon whom the venom of the public must be unleashed. At the moment, that dubious honour has been bestowed on one Kate Moss. Ms Moss is a supermodel whose latest boyfriend is an androgynous-looking high-living character called Pete Doherty. Kate Moss also enjoys (if that be the term) a cocaine habit. She also has a 'friend' with a camera phone who passed on to a tabloid some photos of our Kate indulging said habit.

Cue a torrent of hypocritical invective on the head of Ms Moss. Journalists who, we are led to believe, cannot function without a drug of some sort, all weighed in to cast their stones at 'Cocaine Kate', as she is now to be known.

We are now told that Ms Moss from Croydon (now that is so low!) has indulged in 'lesbian orgies' with one other well-known person. Exactly what part of that is the public's business, one may ask. Anyway, it's now open season on the old bird, so I suppose anything goes.

Yesterday, a leading fashion store cancelled a promotions contract with the beleaguered Ms Moss. Today, Chanel announced it would not be renewing her contract. The tabloids, meanwhile, are sounding all preachy as if to say that 'justice has been done'. Meanwhile, our wonderful Police force, which had all along stayed out of the matter, have now announced that they are 'investigating'.

Enough, I say! Leave the girl alone. She has broken the law, and no doubt, there will be consequences of some sort. She has lost two lucrative contracts, not to mention the fact that she now knows that one of her friends is a traitor. While I do not excuse her drug use, I feel she is being unfairly targeted by a vindictive press and an envious public. The treatment being meted out to Kate Moss would never be given to a man. Sure, he would be villified in the tabloids, but the story would not even last the weekend. In Kate's case, we are in week 2, and the story is still running.

Kate's story reminds me forcibly of TB Macaulay's remark: we know of no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality. I have even heard people express 'concern' that she has a little daughter. That's right, take her child away and put her into care. No doubt she will have a better life in whatever abuse-riddled hellhole of a hostel the State can provide, than anything 'Cocaine Kate' has to offer.

I think I have said enough about this. I hope Kate keeps her remaining contracts. I hope she gets a caution from the Police, and makes an effort to mend her ways. However, faced with the choice of a repentant ex-druggie Kate and a self-righteous British public, I know whom I'd rather have to dinner.