Bishop of Norwich comes to Auntie’s defence

A STRONG defence of the BBC was given by the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James, in the House of Lords on Monday. "It seems odd that a Government so keen to promote British values in our schools appear intent on reducing the capacity of a world-renowned British institution," he said. "What seems to irritate its opponents is its very success." The Government has agreed with the BBC that the BBC will cover the £750 million cost of providing free TV licences to those aged over 75.

BBC values are vital to cohesion - Angela Tilby

Faith leaders condemn violence against women

A DECLARATION that violence against women is "irreconcilable with the teachings of our, or any other, faith or world-view" was due to be signed by Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, and Hindu leaders on Wednesday evening. The group was scheduled to meet at the House of Lords at a reception organised by Restored, which campaigns to end violence.

restoredrelationships.org/get-involved/interfaith

Chelmsford Cathedral invites public to join Chapter

FOR the first time, the Dean of Chelmsford Cathedral is inviting members of the public to join the Chapter, its governing body. The Dean, the Very Revd Nicholas Henshall, said: "This is a really exciting time in the history of Chelmsford Cathedral. Not only are we attracting more visitors than ever before, but we’re holding on average around 30 events a week. . . It’s fantastic to see the cathedral growing in prominence, and that’s exactly why we want to give more people an opportunity to play their part."

New head for Prison Fellowship

PRISON Fellowship England and Wales has appointed Peter Holloway as its chief executive officer. For the past five years he has been group director of human resources at Medair. He will take up his new post in November.

Corrections: the Bishop-designate of Aston, the Revd Anne Hollinghurst, is married to the Revd Steve Hollinghurst, a part-time tutor with the Church Army and a consultant and researcher in mission and contemporary culture. He is not a Herefordshire rural dean, as we stated last week. We also omitted to mention Ms Hollinghurst’s spell as a residentiary canon at Manchester Cathedral. We apologise for the errors. We also misspelt the name of the new Scripture Union game: it is Guardians of Ancora (guardiansofancora.com). Again, our apologies.