Wallace Benn, the Church of England’s Bishop of Lewes, has today withdrawn his endorsement of a booklet by the fundamentalist campaigner Stephen Green. He issued a statement after several bloggers drew attention to his endorsement yesterday.

A frequently repeated myth about restorative justice is that it can’t work for “serious” or “violent crimes”. As restorative practices become more widely available however, this myth is being busted. Its role in shifting the power imbalance around crime towards the victim is becoming increasingly apparent. Its ability to help victims overcome the fear of crime and move on, in a way that more punitive practices often don't, is also being appreciated. Two examples that have been cited recently involve cases of rape.

Last Saturday, (11 June 2011) during a conference on the future direction of the Labour Party, I was engaged in a tea-break conversation with a town councillor. He had some innovative ideas as to how local authorities could reduce costs by co-operative action and the collective purchase of goods and services. So far, so interesting. Then, without any reason apparent to me, he suddenly introduced a coarse reference to male solo sexual activity.