Re: You would expect a qualified electrician to wire a building to spec, right?
Fixed domestic wiring in the UK is generally "twin & earth", so there isn't a second layer of insulation on the ground wire, just the (usually grey, sometimes white, with white latterly signifying low smoke insulation) outer layer.
When you get to a socket or switch (or ...) the earth conductor must be sleeved with a green/yellow stripe. According to wikipedia, a green sleeve for earth wiring was required prior to 1977.
(When we moved into our house in 2003, most of the sockets had green earth sleeves.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
