Leading Article: That Major-Moses summit in full

MOSES and the British government were still at loggerheads last night after 3,000 years of summit meetings (some of them literally on summits). Despite its signature on the Single Mosaic Code, Britain shows no signs of flagging in its determination to secure opt-out clauses. Addressing the 1922BC Committee, John Major said that while Britain was determined to be 'at the heart of Moses', that did not mean it had to accept 'every jot and tittle, every piece of bureaucratic gobbledegook' that God's spokesman wanted to impose on the British people. 'We have had our reservations ever since Sinai,' said Douglas Hurd, 'but that does not mean we are in any sense ambiguous where Moses is concerned.' The main arguments over the 10-clause act concern:

Clause Four: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

British amendment: or not, as the case may be.

Clause Seven: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

British amendment: omission of the negative.

Clause Nine: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

British amendment: unless arms sales to Iraq are at stake.

Clause Ten: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house . . . thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, ox, etc.

British amendment: replace 'not' by 'at all times' and add 'to secure the future prosperity of this great country of ours.'

And (Exodus 20:18) all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off . . . and thought there is the Conservative Party in trouble again, knowing not where it stands but determined to play the old anti-Moses card at the coming elections.