After months of forensic questioning of police officers accused of cover-ups, dodgy payments and secret surveillance, it must have been a welcome break for Keith Vaz, the home affair select committee chair, to be presented with smart-suited execs from Facebook and Twitter. Imagine Vaz's delight, then, when the man representing Facebook turned out to be Richard Allan, a former member of Vaz's committee and ex Lib Dem MP. "So, Mr Allan... sorry, Richard, I should say," Vaz cooed when introducing Facebook's policy boss. It turned out to be a convivial affair, a far cry from the PM's call to ban people from social networks in August. After 45 minutes of close questioning, the committee chair had only one pressing query: "One last thing: how do I get my daughter off Facebook and on with her homework? That's the real point of this session."
