Mrs? Or is that Ms, Miss? (Or does it matter?)

In recent days the European Parliament has again caused "outrage" in the British press after publishing a pamphlet asking staff to refrain from using the titles Miss or Mrs. "Ludicrous", one Tory MEP told the Daily Mail. "Political correctness gone mad", he continued. Another, in the Daily Telegraph, branded it a "waste of taxpayers' money". It is more than 30 years since Ms began to gain ground among a US feminist movement keen to find a title which did not denote a woman's marital status. Decades later - while being a Ms might be seen in Brussels as simple as being, well, a Mr - many elsewhere are less keen to catch on.