Yesterday’s conviction of two boys, both aged ten, for the crime of attempted rape raises once more the knotty issue of rape statistics.

Here’s an amazing fact, courtesy of our old friends OnePoll, creators of surveys for the PR industry.

Beware round numbers. Especially numbers as round and shapely as 40,000.

“Contrary to popular belief and previous Government reports, juries actually convict more often than they acquit in rape cases” concludes Professor Cheryl Thomas of University Col

“Brits three romps from celeb sex” headlined The Sun on Friday, adding that “boffins at Cambridge University have calculated every person in the UK is linked to a star through their sexual partners — with just three steps separating the average person from a steamy celeb romp”.