I am sure Mr. Branson is entitled to his good name, but I wonder if I am alone in thinking that his libel case victory against Mr. Guy Snowden of Camelot (accompanied by the inevitable air-punching victory signs) is just another depressing sign of the 'sue-culture' into which England taking a lead from the US - is rapidly descending.

The great liberty-movements of the 18th and early 19th centuries taught us that we have inalienable rights - and fair enough. But when the pursuit of rights (with no corresponding mention of duties) becomes fanatical. the only people who gain are lawyers.

We have entered a great 'take-you-to-court' age. The inevitable result is that people are terrified of doing anything for fear of being sued. Even generous charitable gestures can be dangerous: they can be misinterpreted and result in yet another court case, for 'abuse' or whatever.

Things have surely reached farcical proportions when food manufacturers actually have to put on their products "WARNING: this substance is hot after heating" (this is not a joke) because consumers who have burned their tongues have taken producers to court and accused them of causing mental and physical anguish, etc.,etc.

St.Paul would have been fuming about all this. In his 1st. Letter to the Christians in Corinth (from which we have recently been reading on Sundays) he criticised them for taking each other to count. The courts were run by pagans; as Christians they should have sorted things out among themselves. "Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between members of the Community, but believer goes to law against believer, and that before pagans?" [1 Cor 6:5-6]

As Christians we certainly shouldn't be suing each other. We had a small case of this in the parish before Christmas, which could quite charitably have been resolved without running with blazing eyes to the nearest solicitor.