Britons have long had a smug sense of superiority when they see some of the silly lawsuits that are allowed in the United States. Whatever our present inferiority in other respects, we were always able to reassure ourselves that our legal system was the best in the world, and that we would never put up with any of the nonsense we see on L A Law or Boston Legal.

That is no longer true.

Ridiculous cases have been sneaking into British courts for some time now. Yet surely a new low has been reached when an unsuccessful gambler is allowed to issue a writ against his bookmaker for not stopping him from gambling.

This would be laughable were it not part of a process that is very dangerous indeed, the slow undermining of the whole concept of personal responsibility.

The idea that we are responsible for our actions is, or was, the basis of our legal system. English Common Law, which is the basis the legal system in the USA and most Commonwealth nations, proceeds from the assumption that we are free to do whatever is not expressly forbidden. In return, we are expected to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions.

Now the assumption of freedom is being undermined by increasing government regulation while the obligation of responsibility is simultaneously under attack in cases like this.

Entrepreneurs are perhaps the highest form of gamblers. If we want the freedom to take risks and keep the rewards when we win, let us at least take responsibility, and not whine, or try to blame someone else, or sue them, when we lose.