21 NOVEMBER 1987, Page 35

Koinonia

Sir: In Peter Hebblethwaite's review (14 November) of a biography of Bishop John Robinson, he refers to the Bishop's evi- dence in the Lady Chatterley trial, and says this:

He . . . went into court and declared that

'sex is something sacred, in a real sense an act of holy communion'. Some say he added - sotto voce 'lower case', but it was too late.

He certainly did add it; I was there, and heard him distinctly. Moreover, he did not say it sotto voce, but in the same tone as the preceding words. And he didn't just say 'lower case'; he said 'lower case, of course'. Mind you, it was too late; he never shook off the image of the Bishop who thought sex was the same as Holy Com- munion.

Bernard Levin

London W1