** Just repeating this post as I accidentally replied to my own post
the last time.**

Thanks for the reply Christian,
In that case how should I provide earth protection on my metal light
switches and fittings (other than replacing them with plastic ones) ?
Is simply linking the lighting earth to the socket earth sufficient? I
want to make the lighting fittings and switches safe but prefer the
look of metal switches for the kitchen. If this is the case I suppose I
should just test for continuity between the lighting earths and a known
good socket earth.

Declan.