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Update: Watch a clip from the controversial BBC documentary featuring the judge
17 June 2009
In his speech to the Family Holiday Association's Patrons' Dinner, Mr Justice Coleridge said: 'I am drawing attention to the endless game of "musical relationships", or "pass the partner", in which such a significant portion of the population is engaged.
He also commented on the BBC's reaction to two documentaries that he had recently helped make. "(these) ... two long documentary programmes were produced by John Ware, a senior and well known and highly respected BBC journalist. They are going out under the title of “The Death of Respect”. They were complete, so I understand by the end of March, and due for broadcast shortly afterwards at a 9pm slot. Last week I discovered they are to be shown in mid July at the extraordinary time of 11.20 pm.
"What is the explanation for this change of heart about these important programmes ? I have sought to make enquiries with the producer and Mr Ware. The only response I have had is that those in charge think that they are “too dark”. “What” I enquired “does “too dark” mean ?” The response was that they are not regarded as sufficiently positive or life affirming or the kind of programmes which the BBC like to make nowadays.
"So we have a situation, it would seem, where the biggest and most highly regarded, publicly funded opinion former in the land regards these vitally important issues as “too dark” to make a contribution to. Instead they either avoid engaging in the debate. That, I suggest is 
worrying. But it may be a symptom of the wider problem."concluded Sir Paul.
The dinner was attended by MPs from the Labour, Conservative and SNP parties and they were joined by a wide selection of travel related companies and partners of the Family Holiday Association such as the YHA represented by their new CEO Caroline White.
The judge is only one of four new charity patrons. He is joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams; the former Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor; and the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks.
Listen to Mr Justice Coleridge's speech at the House of Commons in full here -
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And you can download a pdf copy of Mr Justice Coleridge's speech - here
You can also watch a clip of the BBC programme Death of Respect in which Mr Justice Coleridge featured. Here he is talking to the programme presenter John Ware...
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The speech was covered in the Guardian, The Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, The Independent, and a wide selection of other news outlets. In the Daily Telegraph on Thursday 18 June 2009 the Judge's speech appeared as a comment signed comment article - click here to view.
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