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Charles Windsor, heir to Britain's chief public office, took £9.9m from the Duchy of Cornwall in the last financial year. This was an increase of £2.1m on the previous year.

Mr. Windsor receives the income from extensive land holdings in Cornwall and elsewhere in southern England as the so called Duke of Cornwall. Ownership dates from a time when there was no distinction between the state and the ruling family. When other estates were transferred to the state in the eighteenth century, in recognition that they were in fact public properties, the Duchy of Cornwall was retained. The income from it has continued to benefit an individual rather than the people of Britain to whom it rightly belongs.

Mr. Windsor also receives £3m of taxpayers' money in direct grants. £304, 000 of this comes from the defence ministry to pay for military personnel seconded to him to act as servants. In all he has 17 personal servants and 80 other staff.

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The Windsor family increased their take from taxpayers by 2.5% in the last financial year, according to accounts published this week. The increase was largely caused by refurbishment of Clarence House, the fourth home of Charles Windsor, and the 2002 celebration of 50 years of his mother's tenure as feudal head of state.

The upgrading of Mr. Windsor's extra home will have cost £4.4m when finished. The "jubilee" celebrations cost £441,000. Taxpayers paid £872,000 for the Windsors to travel in their personal railway train just 19 times. This was up from £675, 000 in the previous financial year. It included £42, 228 for one journey to Wales.

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In effort to frighten TV viewers who refuse to pay the BBC for permission to watch other channels the British Broadcasting Corp. has announced that it has a new fleet of detection vans. It claims that new technology, including global positioning equipment, will help it to enforce its tax on free speech.

The vans will usually not carry the licence enforcement company's logo. However, according to spokesperson Christopher Reed the enforcers will "jump out (of their vans) and fix the signs (carrying the logo) when we feel we need to let licence dodgers know that we're around." Why they would wish to do so if their equipment is as effective as claimed was not stated.

British law requires TV watchers, including subscribers to satellite and cable services, to pay the BBC £116 a year for permission to view any TV programme. Two million TV owners do not pay the BBC's protection money despite its prosecution of 1,200 people each year.

The BBC extortion contract is currently held by Capita plc.

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Freedom of expression in Britain is threatened by two European institutions.

The Council of Europe has proposed that anyone criticised in an online medium be guaranteed a right of reply. Newspaper web sites and personal blogs would be affected if the proposal became law in Britain, in addition to web sites such as the Centre for Citizenship's.

The web sites found to have expressed criticism would be obliged to post the "replies" at their own expense. Victims of libel have recourse to legal proceedings at present. In Britain the threat of this expensive legal action is often used to gag unfriendly comment. If the Council has its way, however, a fundamental underpinning of democratic society would be further undermined by bureaucratic interference. Such an extraordinary proposal is possible only from a body that lacks a basic understanding of the requirements of a free society.

In a unrelated development another institution, the European Commission, is considering a ban on TV programmes and advertisements that the courts considered sexist or which do "not represent human dignity." The Commission says that it wishes to stop mass media portrayals of stereotypical women or men and "unacceptable images of men and women affecting human dignity." The Commission will not make a final decision on the proposal until after its summer break.

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The feudal post of Lord Chancellor will be abolished within 18 months, according to constitution affairs secretary Falconer. A consultation paper on the arrangements for replacing the Chancellor will be publish this autumn. This would be preceded by a paper on the proposal for a supreme court and independent judicial appointments committee.

Mr. Falconer is a legislator-for-life.

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Peter Hain, the new leader of the House of Commons, was reported today to be about to challenge Prime Minister Tony Blair by proposing that Britain's remaining hereditary legislators-for-life be removed from office as a preliminary to other reforms to the House of Lords.

Mr. Hain was also said to be calling for proportional representation for the election of MPs. More controversial reforms would include compulsory voting and tax funding for political parties. The new Commons leader was reported as opposing any limit on donations to political parties, saying that "It is a basic right to donate as much as an individual or organisation wishes to." How Mr. Hain squared this right with making financial support for parties through taxation compulsory was not explained.

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Judges in Britain's new supreme court, promised by the Prime Minister last, week, will not follow the example of the United States Supreme Court and "hold their offices during good behaviour," according to a report in The Guardian newspaper. American Supreme Court justices serve as long as they wish unless misbehaviour justifies their removal from the bench.

The Guardian report did not make clear what the British government?s intentions were, although the implication was that the British judges would serve for a fixed term.

The newspaper said that government ministers intended that the British judges should not be able to choose their date of retirement at a time that would make it likely that the replacement would have similar political attitudes. Since the judges are to be appointed by an independent commission, unlike the American practice, it is difficult to see how such fears could be justified. It would not be possible, in any case, to prevent judges retiring before the end of their terms if that suited them.

According to the report, British government ministers believe the American Supreme Court is the product of political corruption. It seems likely, therefore, that it is this belief and a consequent wish to deny that Britain is again following an American example, that is behind the confused thinking evident in the newspaper item.

The Guardian also reported that Derry Irvine, whose ancient position of Lord Chancellor has been abolished as a part of the democratic reforms, was opposed to the creation of a Supreme Court in part because of the cost providing new accommodation for the justices.

The new Supreme Court is not expected to be fully functional for another three years.

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According to a report in the Guardian newspaper the Labour Party's Fabian Society will recommend that the link between Britain's hereditary head of state and the Church of England be ended.

But the report of the Society's so-called commission on the future of the monarchy is said not to recommend that the British monarchy be replaced by a democratic institution, nor that the feudal status of the Anglicanism as a state religion be ended.

The "commission" includes two legislators-for-life, know as "Lords" among its members. According to the The Guardian newspaper a source close to the "commission" said that it wanted the monarchy to be seen as "a modern institution there for all the people of Britain." Apparently there was no explanation as to why the Fabians did not believe that the British state, which would keep its intimate relationship with the privileged Church of England, should not also be modern and "there" for the people of Britain.

Among the other recommendations expected are greater access to Windsor family palaces and an audit of Crown properties.

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The government has announced major steps towards the separation of powers in Britain. The office of Lord Chancellor, which combined executive, legislative and judicial functions, is to be abolished. And a supreme court is to be established outside the legislature.

The office of Lord Chancellor has existed for 800 years and in other forms for much longer. It has continued in being despite the inroads of democracy into other parts of British government.

The so-called Lord acted as head of the judiciary and was a senior government minister heading a department of state. He was also "speaker" of the second legislative chamber, the House of Lords, and was entitled to sit as a judge.

The Lord Chancellor?s responsibilities included the appointment of new judges and senior barristers, known as "QCs". An independent judicial appointments commission will take over the appointment of judges (none of whom are elected in Britain) when the reforms are implemented, replacing the former secretive system. The future of the wig wearing barristers is to be reviewed.

A supreme court outside of Parliament will take responsibility for final judicial ruling away from judges who are also legislators. Unlike the US Supreme Court is will not be able to rule on the constitutionality of legislation as Britain has not yet adopted a written constitution and the power of the legislature is still unlimited.

The replacement of feudal arrangements with more democratic ones was denounced by so-called "Lord" Strathclyde, who leads unelected Conservative legislators in the House of Lords, as "trendy." Another Conservative legislator-for-life, Cranley Onslow, compared the reforms to the practices of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. He characterised the pre-democratic office of Lord Chancellor as a symbol of "liberty." Commentators from all parties who criticised the sudden nature of the announcement of major reforms without prior debate were on safer ground.

The reform announcement was marred by the appointment of a legislator-for-life, the so-called Lord Falconer, to be minister in charge of a new Department of Constitutional Affairs.

Labour government member Derry Irvine, who was dismissed as Lord Chancellor as the reforms were announced, had opposed the reforms, apparently believing the feudal system to be superior to any other.

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The Chair of the Australian Republican Movement (ARM), Professor John Warhurst, said today that the Republic was back on the public agenda.

"The events of recent weeks have demonstrated that the Australian people have lost confidence in the office of the Governor General. The system is clearly broken and needs to be replaced. The resignation of the Governor General has not fixed the problem. No matter what happens in coming weeks, the Australian population will still be shut out of the process."

Prof. Warhurst stressed that "Tinkering with the system will not fix it. The Government and Parliament should consult the Australian people on replacing the current broken system with a republic that is democratic and transparent."

The ARM National Committee, representing members from all states and territories, has been holding a two day meeting in Canberra over this weekend to discuss the way forward for an Australian Head of State.

The National Committee endorsed the recent membership discussion paper The Process - what do you think? which investigates the best way to consult the Australian people on their preferences for an Australian Head of State. The process initiative follows on from the ARM's 2001 paper, Six Models for an Australian Republic. Both publications remain open for public comment and are available at www.republic.org.au

The ARM's Deputy Chair Jason Li stated that "consulting the Australian public on these issues is the only way we can achieve successful constitutional reform. The ARM recognises that Australians want a say in establishing an Australian Head of State and we're working to provide opportunities for Australians to engage in this debate."

Allison Henry, a member of the ARM National Committee, stated that "Polls have consistently shown that the Australia people want their say on who their Head of State is. The Prime Minister won't change the current system: the only way forward is to replace it."

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