Bishop Hill takes Wycliffe Hall chair
THE Bishop of Bristol, the
Rt Revd Mike Hill, has been appointed to chair the council of
Wycliffe Hall, the Evangelical theological college in Oxford, with
immediate effect. Bishop Hill replaces the Bishop of Chester, Dr
Peter Forster, who, with the Principal, the Revd Dr Richard
Turnbull, stepped down earlier this year (News,
22 June). Wycliffe Hall said in a statement that Bishop Hill
was "a previous member of Hall Council and knows Wycliffe
well".
Peers vote to remove 'insulting' from 1986
Act
THE House of Lords voted on
Thursday night, by 150 to 54, to amend Section 5 of the 1986 Public
Order Act so that it no longer criminalised insults. A campaign to
amend the Act included the Christian Institute, the National
Secular Society, and the human-rights activist Peter Tatchell. Mr
Tatchell said on Thursday night that the vote was "a sweeping
victory for free speech and civil liberties". The Crown
Prosecution Service had previously opposed a change in the law;
but, in a letter earlier this week to Lord Dear, the former Chief
Constable of West Midlands Police, the Director of Public
Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, said: "Having now considered
the case law in greater depth, we are unable to identify a case in
which the alleged behaviour leading to conviction could not
properly be characterised as 'abusive' as well as 'insulting'. I
therefore agree that the word 'insulting' could safely be removed
without the risk of undermining the ability of the CPS to bring
prosecutions."
Bishop Jones to host cuts summit in Liverpool
THE Bishop of Liverpool, the
Rt Revd James Jones, and the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, will
host an event next month on the impact of local-government-budget
cuts in the city. The event will be held on 18 January at the Arena
and Convention Centre. Mr Anderson said: ww"Local government is
facing unprecedented reductions in funding which will change for
ever the way in which we deliver services. . . We are demanding the
Government listen and take notice of the dire situation faced by
local authorities, and will be highlighting how their policies are
jeopardising the services we provide."
'Mega-mosque' planning permission refused
PLANNING officials in Newham refused to give permission for a
mosque to be built in West Ham, east London, last week. Permission
was sought by Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim group, to build the mosque,
which would have seated nearly 10,000 worshippers. A council
spokesman said that there were "concerns about the size of the
proposed buildings and the impact on parking and traffic in the
local area".