Dr Williams was advised before his speech on Thursday evening that the content could prove controversial. He heeded the warnings but went ahead anyway. He was "taken aback" by just how controversial it then proved but remains "chirpy" and unrepentant about his comments because he believes that they needed to be made.

Even on their own liberal terms, this pair are clueless about sharia and its scorn for women.

Clueless: Rowan Williams seems ignorant of the plight of many Muslim women, who would rather escape sharia law than embrace it

It was exiled Iranian Muslim women who defeated a similar proposal in Canada. They had travelled thousands of miles to escape sharia law and didn't want it in Toronto, thanks very much.

I was reminded of one of those "outlandish proverbs" that Anglican poet-priest George Herbert collected: "When the fox preacheth, beware geese." It looks increasingly like those who believe the 2008 Lambeth Conference may resolve the conflicts that are dividing TEC and the Anglican Communion are deceiving themselves.

What he went on to say was more astonishing. He explained to the interviewer, in his gentle, wordy way, that a lot of what is written on this confusing subject suggests "the ideal situation is one in which there is one law and only one law for everybody". He went on: "That principle is an important pillar of our social identity as a western liberal democracy." How true.