A TRIBUNAL in Newcastle is wrestling with a case that has a "sign of the times" written all over it.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of Kristy Green versus Gillman and Soame - and there may be more to this case than simply sex discrimination - it is a classic collision of different worlds. It is a debate that fascinates us all: in an evolving world of equal rights, can the sexes ever be equal?

In the old-fashioned corner - and "old-fashioned" is not used pejoratively - is Gillman and Soame. Established in 1840, it is jealously guarding its hard-earned reputation as a highly respectable prestige photographer. Just as most football clubs do not want to be associated with drunken thugs, a company like Gillman and Soame would not want to be associated with someone who flaunts nearly all for the cheap titillation of tabloid readers. Indeed, The Northern Echo decided not to publish Ms Green's topless shots because we do not want to be associated with the tattier end of the newspaper market.

In the modern corner is Ms Green who, quite rightly, says that no man would be sacked for exposing his chest in a photograph. In fact, firemen who pose suggestively for charity calendars are regarded as cheeky heroes (and, incidentally, have their pictures printed in The Northern Echo) and there is always a rush for theatre tickets when shows like the Chippendales or the Full Monty come round.

So, if it's good enough for men, why isn't it good enough for women? And what sort of Taliban-logic is it that decrees women's breasts should be kept under wraps when men can wander around as they wish?

It is also true that you can see far more revealing sights on most European beaches (although not necessarily on the North-East coast even at the height of summer). Yet no firm, however jealous of its reputation, would dare ban its staff from going topless in Tenerife - so why would it sack an employee for going topless in her past?

So, The Northern Echo today sits squarely on the fence. We support Ms Green in her desire for equality and in her right to go legally topless. And we support a firm's desire to uphold its old-fashioned reputation for wholesome decency. We await the tribunal's judgement with immense interest and, in the meantime, will enjoy the debate about society's apparent double standards.