Former attorney-general Peter Goldsmith's suggestion that school leavers could swear allegiance to the queen must have set a few Quaker teeth on edge. But our Hexham Friend Caroline Westgate saw an opportunity. She's been reading Decca: the letters of Jessica Mitford and has alighted on an incident where Decca was required to provide a fingerprint and sign an oath when she was appointed visiting professor at San Jose State University. Refusal led to sacking and a court case. The judge said the university's case was unsupported by any validly adopted statute and so couldn't be enforced. While all this went on she hadn't been paid, which enraged the judge.
'How wonderful it would be', says Caroline, 'to give the UK authorities a similar run-around should they be foolish enough to grant us a similar opportunity!'

Labels: oaths