Tony Sanderson of the Secularist Society said on BBC Radio 4 that as Chaplians were a faith issue, then they should no be financed by the National health Service and instead piad for by churches, mosques and temples. He suggestes that it costs the NHS £40m per annum and the money could be better spent on medical matters or cleaning of hospitals

CHRISTIANITY is at risk of being sidelined in Britain's "aggressively secularist" society, former prime minister Tony Blair has warned. Mr Blair said he agreed with church leaders that faith is in danger of being seen as a "personal eccentricity" rather than an important influence on the country.

THE Church of Scotland attacked the Government's new laws on human fertilisation and embryology yesterday, warning that they will “erase” the role of the father. Senior figures in the Kirk told The Times that they were “stunned” by the legislation, which allows a man or woman with no biological link to an IVF baby to be registered as a parent.

THE most extensive search yet for Earth-like planets that could harbour life beyond the solar system is due to start in the early hours of tomorrow with the launch of a spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The Kepler probe is the first Nasa mission capable of finding habitable planets like our own in faraway regions of the galaxy. If all goes to plan, the probe will be blasted into space from the Florida site at 3.48am GMT atop a Delta II rocket, which will put the craft into a solar orbit that lags behind the Earth as it circles the Sun. – Guardian   Mon090309

A 75-YEAR-OLD woman got round the law banning euthanasia in Britain by starving herself to death. The Scots pensioner who suffered from motor neurone disease, died after refusing food and drink for 25-days. (The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph) Mon090309

Why Believe? – The Scottish inter-denominational apologetics group will host a conference on Life and Death issues – What it means to be human, on January 30th 2010 with Elaine Storkey as one of the main speakers. Watch this website for more details)

DOCTORS who act contrary to the wishes of dying or comatose patients could be judged to be causing harm and struck off under new rules from the medical regulator. The General Medical Council will publish draft guidance this month advising doctors how they should approach decisions surrounding the “end of life”, including whether to withhold treatment from terminally ill patients, turn off life support or attempt resuscitation. The advice for all 150,000 practising doctors in Britain avoids mention of assisted suicide, or actively helping a patient to die.