Scouts' badge of masculinity removed

BRITAIN'S Scouts have become politically correct. The movement's traditional set of laws - laid down by the founder, Lord Baden-Powell, at the start of the century - have been rewritten to take into account thousands of girls who now make up 1 per cent of the 500,000 membership in Britain.

Some of the seven rules remain unchanged, along with the Scout Promise pledging duty to the Queen. But the fourth law, which used to say 'a Scout is a brother to all Scouts', now reads: 'A Scout belongs to the worldwide family of Scouts.' The seventh law, formerly 'a Scout has respect for himself and for others', is now 'a Scout has self-respect and respect for others'.

A Scout Association spokesman, John Fogg, said: 'We are doing away with expressions like 'brother' because they no longer seem appropriate. So-called 'traditionalists' are fond of saying that Baden-Powell would turn in his grave - but the opposite is true. His daughter is still alive and I know she believes strongly that her father would approve of moving with the times.'