Keep Easter on our eggs, says a new survey

FOUR in five British people want the word “Easter” to appear on the packaging of their chocolate eggs, a new poll suggests. Of those questioned, 79 per cent disagreed with the idea of avoiding calling the eggs “Easter eggs”. The survey was commissioned by the Meaningful Chocolate Company, which claims that, increasingly, manufacturers are downplaying any mention of Easter on their packaging. The firm sells the UK’s only Fairtrade Easter egg, which includes a copy of the Easter story inside.

George Bell victim apologises to Lord Carey

THE woman whom the Church of England accepts was abused by the late Bishop of Chichester, George Bell, has apologised to the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, for suggesting that she had told him of her ordeal. The BBC reported that the survivor, who has chosen to remain anonymous, had previously said that she wrote to Lord Carey about Bishop Bell, but now accepts that this was incorrect. Her solicitors said that it was a “genuine mistake made in good faith”. Lord Carey recently wrote to Bishop Bell’s niece saying he was “distressed” at the way the Church had tainted his legacy (Press, 11 March).

Rowan Williams denounces anti-Semitism on campus

LORD WILLIAMS, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has written to the Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, about what he sees as the growing problem of anti-Semitism at British universities. In a letter to a victim of anonymous online anti-Semitic abuse at the University of York, Lord Williams said that he had contacted Mr Johnson to request that more be done to combat anti-Semitism. Lord Williams, who is now the master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, said that the abuse experienced by the student was “truly appalling stuff, but, sadly, seems not to be that unusual at the moment”.

Nottinghamshire churches to mark 400 years since the Mayflower

CHURCHES in north Nottinghamshire are applying for lottery funding for a scheme to mark the 400th anniversary of the year the Mayflower set sail from Britain, carrying the first pilgrims to what would become the United States. The organisations Churches Together in Retford, Bassetlaw Christian Heritage, and others want to secure funding to put on events and improve heritage trails in time for the anniversary in 2020. Their plans were mentioned in a House of Commons debate on the anniversary by the MP for Bassetlaw, John Mann, last week. About 40 of the original pilgrims on the Mayflower were Christian “separatists”, mostly from the Bassetlaw region, who sought the freedom to establish independent churches.

Former vicar sentenced for sex abuse of teenage boys

LEONARD SKINNER, a retired priest from Brighton, has been sentenced to eight years after admitting four counts of indecent assault against a 15-year-old boy, and another boy under 14, in the 1970s (News, 11 March). He committed the crimes while he was Vicar of St Peter’s, Grange Park, in north London.