Sony BMG repents over CD debacle Sony BMG is rethinking its anti-piracy policy following weeks of criticism over the copy protection used on CDs. The head of Sony BMG's global digital business, Thomas Hesse, told the BBC that the company was "re-evaluating" its current methods. It follows widespread condemnation of the way anti-piracy software on some Sony CDs installs itself on computers. The admission came as Sony faced more censure over the security failings of one of its copy protection programs. The row began in November when software developer Mark Russinovich discovered that Sony BMG's XCP anti-piracy programs used virus-like techniques to hide itself on a PC. The row ended with Sony recalling all the CDs that use XCP and offering to swap customers' existing discs for ones that do not use the much-criticised software. Speaking to the BBC News website, Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG's global digital business, said all the bad publicity had made it think hard about its approach to stopping people making illegal copies. "The key point to remember is that copyright infringement is a huge issue for the recording industry as a whole and that's where we came from originally," he said. "But this whole story has led us to look at the approach we have to take going forward," Mr Hesse said. The furore about the XCP software had lead Sony BMG to "diligently re-evaluate" how it protects music on CDs. He said it was too early to say where Sony was in the evaluation process or what might result, but he said the company was taking the re-examination very seriously. Sony came in for more criticism this week over SunComm's MediaMax anti-piracy program used on 32 CDs released in the US and Canada. The problem with the MediaMax software was revealed in a joint statement Sony BMG issued with digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In that statement Sony urged users to install a patch that closed the security loophole that MediaMax opened on PCs. However, the discovery by independent security researchers that this patch suffered the same security problems as the original program led the EFF to withdraw its support. The loophole introduced by MediaMax and the patch could have let malicious hackers hijack the programs to gain control of a PC. The new program issued by Sony BMG on 8 December closes the hole in the patch. "It's a fairly common issue often found in PC games," said Robert Horton, a security expert from NGS Software brought in by Sony to vet its latest patch. "Its fairly common and the fix is easy to provide through a software update." He said it was unlikely that any attacker would have been able to exploit the bugs in MediaMax and its patch. "Even if the issue is only a slight one, at Sony BMG we are very clear that any software security issues are taken with the utmost seriousness," said Mr Hesse. Friday, 9 December 2005, 16:59 GMT Copyright © news.bbc.co.uk

Song sites face legal crackdown The music industry is to extend its copyright war by taking legal action against websites offering unlicensed song scores and lyrics. The Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents US sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006. MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed. He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal". Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective". The move comes after several years of bitter legal battles against unauthorised services allowing users to download recordings for free. Publishing companies have taken action against websites in the past, but this will be the first co-ordinated legal campaign by the MPA. The MPA would target "very big sites that people would think are legitimate and very, very popular", Mr Keiser said. "The Xerox machine was the big usurper of our potential income," he said. "But now the internet is taking more of a bite out of sheet music and printed music sales so we're taking a more proactive stance." David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers' Association, added his concerns. "Unauthorised use of lyrics and tablature deprives the songwriter of the ability to make a living, and is no different than stealing," he said. "Music publishers and songwriters will consider all tools under the law to stop this illegal behaviour." Sandro del Greco, who runs Tabhall.co.uk, said the issue was not serious enough to warrant jail time and sites like his were not necessarily depriving publishers of income. "I play the drums mainly but I play the guitar as well. I run the website and I still buy the [tab] books," he said. "The tabs online aren't deadly accurate so if someone really wants to know it they'll buy the book. "But most of the bands I listen to don't have tab books to buy so if you get them online, that's the only way you can really learn it unless you work it out yourself." The campaign comes after lyric-finding software PearLyrics was forced off the internet by a leading music publishing company, Warner Chappell. PearLyrics worked with Apple's iTunes, searching the internet to find lyrics for songs in a user's collection. "I just don't see why PearLyrics should infringe the copyright of Warner Chappell because all I'm doing is searching publicly-available websites," PearLyrics developer Walter Ritter said. "It would be different if they had an alternative service that also provided lyrics online and also integrated [with iTunes] like PearLyrics did. "But they don't offer anything like that at all." Warner Chappell were unavailable for comment. Friday, 9 December 2005, 17:55 GMT Copyright © news.bbc.co.uk

Why is English mistletoe facing crisis? English mistletoe, said to be the best in the world, is facing a crisis. Why? It spreads good cheer and without it many Christmas kisses would remain ungiven. Mistletoe is as festive as mince pies and the annual English crop is said to be the best in the world, praised for its elegant, parallel-sided leaves and lustrous berries. By comparison mistletoe grown in France - largely of the same Viscum Album variety - is said to have larger, limper leaves and fewer berries. The different American variety has a reputation in some circles for falling to bits before one's lips can even be puckered. But despite its status in the world of mistletoe, the English crop is facing a crisis. Disappearing apple orchards and the uncertain future of a unique auction are at the heart of the problem. In the UK mistletoe grows as a parasite on the soft bark of certain trees, mainly apple. Most sold for the Christmas trade is harvested from low-growing orchard trees in the Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire area. The problem is not the plant itself, it is not threatened, but the disappearing apple orchards. Mistletoe can be propagated but the success rate is low, meaning the industry relies heavily on supplies from the wild. "It is a complex situation," says mistletoe expert Jonathan Briggs. "While mistletoe is being spotted in more places - like parks and gardens - there is a real risk to the wild population. That means supplies are at risk long-term." Nearly all English mistletoe is sold wholesale in one place: Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire - the "mistletoe capital" of the UK. It has run a unique mistletoe auction before Christmas for the last 150 years, based at the town's cattle market. It is steeped in tradition, with Druids attending to bless the plants. But this year will be the last sale at the site as it has been sold off to developers. The auction will have to find a new base, but there are fears that moving it to a field outside Tenbury Wells will rob the occasion of its ambience and unique ties with the town. And while mistletoe makes some useful pocket-money for orchard owners at Christmas, without the ready market in Tenbury Wells it would hardly be worth cropping. "This is the last wholesale market for English mistletoe," says Mr Briggs. "People come from all over to buy it. We don't know what will happen next year when the traditional market site is unavailable, but we are determined to keep the auction in the town." Concerned mistletoe growers and well-wishers have now joined forces to safeguard the plant and the auction. The Tenbury English Mistletoe Enterprise (TEME), aims to keep the tradition alive and, with the blessing of Parliament, has declared 1 December National Mistletoe Day. It has also staged a mistletoe ball and festival. In addition a website has been set up selling local mistletoe and the group hopes to clock up £100,000 in sales this year. Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 11:21 GMT Copyright © news.bbc.co.uk

CCTV staff 'spied on naked woman' Two council workers used CCTV cameras to spy on a woman as she undressed for a bath, a court has heard. But the men were themselves caught on a camera monitoring Sefton Council's CCTV control room, Liverpool Crown Court was told. Kevin Judge, 42, of Crosby, Merseyside, and David Welsh, 40, of Anfield, Liverpool deny charges of voyeurism. Mr Judge and Mr Welsh were recorded playing back the video of the woman, the court heard. Mr Welsh denies a second charge of misconduct in public office. Two other men have admitted offences relating to the investigation. One man has admitted voyeurism and another misconduct in public office. Peter Davies, prosecuting, said "These cameras were misused. Instead of focusing on streets and car parks they focused on a young lady inside her own flat, where she was in the bath, where she was undressing, where she was going to the toilet. The cameras were focused and manipulated on her while she was believing she was enjoying her privacy." Mr Davies said the cameras first focused on the woman as she greeted her boyfriend and spoke with him in the front room. After the man left, the woman ran a bath and walked around the flat undressing. The images, which were automatically recorded on a computer hard drive, captured full nudity, as well as the woman in her underwear. Mr Davies said the camera monitoring the CCTV control room showed Judge turning down the lights as the film was shown on a large screen. He added: "Mr Welsh is seen to be in an avid and animated mood. He is seen to point to the screen and raise his hands to his eyes in a gesture to suggest binoculars." The trial is expected to last a week. Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 13:04 GMT Copyright © news.bbc.co.uk

'Wide variations' in death rates Death rates in Scottish hospitals vary widely, according to an independent health watchdog. Only Aberdeen Royal Infirmary had a better than average mortality rate, the Doctor Foster Hospital Guide found. Researchers also claimed that while waiting times in England fell over the past year, there had been little or no improvement in Scotland. The figures were compiled by the team, based at Imperial College, using data from hospitals across the UK. Analysts said they took into account factors in deaths such as age, sex, emergencies and length of stay in hospital. They found three hospitals in Scotland - the Queen Margaret in Dunfermline, Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary and St John's in Livingston - had higher than average mortality rates. Researcher Roger Taylor said: "This information is vital to patients making choices about where they go for treatment." Scotland's information commissioner Kevin Dunion has called on the NHS to publish details of the death rates of individual surgeons. The health service has been reluctant to release figures in the past as they may be open to misinterpretation. The president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, John Smith, said it was right to inform the public, but any league table had to be comprehensive. Saturday, 10 December 2005, 00:10 GMT Copyright © news.bbc.co.uk

US isolated after climate talks walkout The US administration was facing condemnation last night after it refused to sign up to a UN statement intended to reopen worldwide talks on how to tackle climate change. The American move, at a high-level summit in Montreal, after two weeks of talks appeared to renege on a commitment made at the Gleneagles G8 summit, and promised embarrassment for Tony Blair, who has spent 18 months trying to woo George Bush back into the debate on global warming. Undeterred, more than 150 other countries were poised last night to take the Kyoto protocol into a second phase, extending the international agreement to cut emissions of greenhouse gases when its first phase expires in 2012. Washington, which has refused to sign up to Kyoto, signalled that it did not want to be drawn into broader negotiations on climate change when, after days of tension, Harlan Watson, the chief US negotiator, walked out of talks early on Friday. He objected to a formulation in the UN statement that suggested dialogue on climate change with no binding commitments which he said would be tantamount to opening fresh negotiations. According to one minister present, Mr Watson walked out after telling the meeting of ministers: "If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck then it's a duck." Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, said: "President Bush personally agreed at Gleneagles that the Americans would be part of discussions here. It would be a great pity if the US thought for whatever reason that it could not be part of a move forward." One EU insider said moves were afoot in the US camp to redraft the UN statement, but said the changes were "trivial" in nature. America's isolated stance on climate change drew thinly-veiled criticism from former president Bill Clinton, who dismissed as "flat wrong" Mr Bush's argument that Kyoto would damage the US economy. David Adam in Montreal Saturday December 10, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk

Police chief to look into claims over flights A top police officer is seeking a meeting with Liberty, the human rights group, over suspicions that British airports have been used by CIA planes taking detainees to places where they may be tortured. Michael Todd, chief constable of Greater Manchester, is to pursue allegations that CIA planes, known to have landed in Britain, carried terrorist suspects "rendered" to secret interrogation centres elsewhere. Mr Todd, who is the member of the Association of Chief Police Officers' terrorism committee responsible for aviation, is to meet Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights group, for what his spokesman called "an initial exploration of the issues Liberty have raised". "We would like to stress this is not currently a criminal investigation," the spokesman added. Liberty has sent a letter to 11 chief constables warning that the CIA "by detaining people within the UK with a view to delivering them to third countries are either aiding and abetting actions contrary to British law, or are conspiring with others in third countries to commit such acts." The chief constables have been asked what steps they have taken to investigate the CIA flights and what they know about them. It is illegal under British and international law, and under European and UN human rights conventions, to be complicit in torture. Liberty acted after the Guardian reported that CIA aircraft have flown into Britain, including RAF stations, on more than 200 occasions since the September 11 2001 attacks on the US. Ms Chakrabarti yesterday described meeting Mr Todd as a welcome first step which could not take the place of a criminal investigation. "Coordinating efforts under the umbrella of Acpo is fine, but it must not be a half-measure to draw attention away from the UK's possible complicity," she said. In a new twist to the growing controversy in Europe over the flights, the Department of Transport has said it has no record of the aircraft landing in Britain. Karen Buck, aviation minister, has told Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, that this "indicates that if these aircraft landed in the UK they were either not involved in civil commercial transport or were stopping for technical purposes, for example, to refuel". Sir Menzies referred specifically to two aircraft, a Boeing 737 and a Gulfstream, which evidence shows have landed in Britain. He told the Guardian last night: "A cynic would say there seems to be a remarkable lack of information about what aircraft use British airports. It may be convenient not to know what is going on, but it is hardly responsible." Ms Buck is the latest in a series of ministers who have not denied the flights and landings in Britain, but say they have no records of them or are unaware of their purpose. Defence ministers have said their department only has records of passengers if they leave the airfield. In the House of Lords yesterday the government said it would oppose an amendment to the Civil Aviation Bill to stop "rendition" flights. The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, has asked Washington to explain the flights. His US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, defended the practice of rendition this week and said it was saving lives. Richard Norton-Taylor Saturday December 10, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk

Papers reveal UK's nuclear aid to Israel Fresh and apparently incriminating documents have come to light under the Freedom of Information Act on the way Britain helped Israel obtain its nuclear bomb 40 years ago, by selling it 20 tonnes of heavy water. The Whitehall files not only confirm that Britain was a knowing party to the deal, but also contain subsequent intelligence assessments confirming that the sale of heavy water, which is used to produce plutonium, was crucial to Israel's nuclear weapons programme. It was first revealed earlier this year by BBC Newsnight that sales of heavy water to Israel had secretly taken place in 1958. But Kim Howells, a Foreign Office minister, subsequently claimed that "the UK was not in fact a party to the sale of heavy water to Israel". He sought to blame Norway, saying Britain had merely negotiated "the sale back to Norway of surplus heavy water". But Mr Howells' claims were undermined last night when Newsnight produced documents from the National Archives. A Joint Intelligence Bureau report to spy chiefs on March 27 1961 says: "The main Israeli achievement in the importing line relates to 20 tonnes of heavy water ... which the UK Atomic Energy Authority had contracted to buy from Norway and later found to be surplus to their requirements ... negotiations were undertaken whereby the water ultimately passed into Israeli hands." Contrary to Mr Howells' claim that Britain could not impose safeguards, the papers also show that Britain deliberately agreed not to demand safeguards over the Israeli sale, and officials said it would be "over-zealous" to do so. David Leigh Saturday December 10, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk

Police may face charges over Menezes killing · Inquiry's report likely to go to prosecutors · Specialist lawyer will review evidence The Crown Prosecution Service will appoint an expert lawyer from its specialist crime division to decide whether police officers should face charges over the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, it was confirmed yesterday. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is due to finish by the middle of next month its report on the shooting by police of the innocent Brazilian who was apparently mistaken for a terrorist. Nick Hardwick, the IPCC's chairman, said it was likely he would hand the report to the CPS shortly afterwards. The commission, which has been liaising with the prosecution service, would detail specific charges which might be brought against individual officers named in the report. John Tate, the IPCC's director of legal services, would not discuss potential charges but they could include manslaughter or even murder. But the commission has only to assess the "lower threshold" of whether such charges are possible, said Mr Hardwick. Only the prosecution service can decide to charge anyone. A CPS spokeswoman said yesterday that a specialist lawyer with experience in handling controversial high profile cases would be appointed to review the evidence but it was impossible to say how long this could take. The full IPCC report might never be made public. In its most frank official disclosure to date about the sensitive inquiry, the IPCC said it had taken 600 statements, 30 from witnesses, including police officers, who were in the tube train carriage at Stockwell underground station where Mr de Menezes was shot dead the day after the failed July 21 bombings. "People who were on that tube will hopefully never have to witness anything like that in their lives again," said Mr Hardwick. The IPCC has spoken to all the officers involved in the shooting, from those who fired guns to high-ranking officers in charge at the Gold command control room at the time. Several officers - the IPCC refused to say how many - were interviewed under caution. But the investigators have not spoken directly to the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, the man ultimately responsible for the implementation of Operation Kratos - the policy of shooting dead suspected suicide bombers - the first use of which resulted in the death of an innocent man. Mr Hardwick refused to confirm or deny whether his team received a written statement from Sir Ian, but said he was satisfied they had spoken to all relevant parties. While the IPCC will make more general operational recommendations, it was not its role to judge the Met's counter-terrorism policy, he said. Mr Hardwick did not believe the inquiry suffered because of the five-day delay in the IPCC taking over. This was due to a row with Sir Ian, who argued the counter-terrorism investigation should take priority. Nor did he think any relevant material had been withheld, including disputed CCTV tapes from Stockwell tube station. These were "significant" but he would not say whether any of them were blank. John Cummins, the IPCC's senior investigator in charge of the inquiry, said the unauthorised leaking of parts of the report was a low point and the commission had worked hard to regain the respect of the other parties. He said the IPCC had commissioned its own forensic research and created a computer simulation of the incident. Rosie Cowan, crime correspondent Saturday December 10, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk

Travelling light Six months ago I was approached to make a documentary about two naked ramblers who were planning to walk from Land's End to John O'Groats. I was excited - it's not often a project comes along which allows you to indulge your own personal interests and I've always been a keen rambler. Steve Gough and his girlfriend Melanie Roberts disrobed in front of a media scrum on a cold June morning in Cornwall and set off with me in tow. They were demonstrating the right to freedom of expression and I was there to film them do it (although I was clothed). I would spend the next three months happily yomping over hills and vales with my naked companions filming what seemed at times like a racy version of Last Of The Summer Wine. But initially I found the experience quite embarrassing. In the first few miles I filmed endless open-mouthed villagers struggling to compute what it was they were beholding, until they clocked me cowering purple-faced behind my camera. I'd have to look away. It was as if I was a pedlar of some strange filth, hellbent on sullying the image of the British countryside. A porn film with financial backing from Ordnance Survey. One inch to every mile. Steve is a 46-year-old ex-marine and father of two who has a habit of taking his kit off in very public places and it made me wonder why his much younger girlfriend had given up her job as a hairdresser to accompany him. He certainly is very charismatic and in the first few days I couldn't help feeling enchanted to learn that he thought of me as a "big ball of love". In particular, he was very hot on three main subject areas - love, innocence and guilt. He believed nakedness was a celebration of the true nature of humanity and that through nudity new levels of love could be attained between people and as a direct result of this children would grow up without a sense of guilt about their own bodies. I think Steve's views do make sense but he needs to learn to express them more succinctly. Invariably he'd go off at a tangent and then forget where he'd begun and on other occasions he'd start to change his mind halfway through a point. Sometimes he'd even start arguing with himself and that's quite disturbing to watch. He had a thirst for weighty philosophical debate that seemed unquenchable and at times I was reminded of the worst kind of student chat, in the middle of the night, after too many cans of super-strength lager. Fortunately, Melanie proved the ideal antidote to Steve's endless preaching and justified her participation simply because she enjoyed the sensation of cool air wafting around her naked parts. I think Steve saw himself as a sort of naked Pied Piper and he hoped other ramblers would join him along the way. Right at the start there was an older man but he had to remain anonymous or his wife, he assured me, would cut off his testicles. Then there was a chap called Richard who was famous in Cambridge for riding his bicycle while completely starkers, and there was Graeme, who very nearly came unstuck while scaling a fence covered in barbed wire. Richard annoyed the others by saying things like "Why did you put clothes on to put your tent up? I put mine up naked" and he and Graeme eventually left after disagreements with Mel. There was also Jeff, who'd already developed a habit of taking his clothes off in his home town of Lancaster and as a result of this had had his collar felt by the police there (metaphorically speaking). As we headed up through Wales I noticed Steve and Mel's fledgling relationship was coming under some strain. The main cause of this was Steve's commitment to follow what he called his "spontaneous urges". It was writ large in Steve's belief system that compromise is at the root of all mental illness. Therefore if he found himself feeling powerful levels of attraction to any number of other women he would have to find the strength to follow them. On this occasion another girlfriend of his turned up one Friday evening with a two-man tent and Steve wandered off leaving Mel and me by a stream with a bottle of wine. But Steve's pursuit of his spontaneous urges was about to backfire. The following night, emboldened by alcohol, he cheekily suggested to both women they join him for a cuddle in the tent at the same time. Obviously my camera was not privy to what happened on that groundsheet but evidently after just a few minutes Steve began to feel nasty sensations of jealousy and rejection and ended up spending the night at the top of a hill alone in silent contemplation. In all this time I'd never seen the police taking much notice of the nudes. But then, in Shropshire, things changed suddenly. The ramblers - with Jeff on board again (back from a court appearance in Lancaster and now sporting his own placard, Natural Freedom) - were shopping for groceries in the sleepy village of Wem. We were inside a baker's, where Mel was looking to purchase a jar of piccalilli. After a couple of minutes I heard a kerfuffle outside and noticed that Jeff was being berated by a woman. "If I had my children with me I would bloody well punch you!" she said. Afterwards Jeff beat himself up for not giving the woman a Natural Freedom leaflet but her outburst had left him tongue-tied and before he knew it she'd disappeared in to the florist's. They fled out of the village but we were intercepted by a police car on a road going north. "I'm arresting you for indecent exposure, anything you say..." warned the copper but Steve butted in with some very well-rehearsed lines: "So you are saying the human body is indecent. Are you? Are you?" This situation was defused by a friendly neighbour who made tea for the nudes but not the police. The following day Steve and Jeff refused to appear clothed before the magistrates and were eventually released naked at the back of the courts by some laughing policemen. Mel had put clothes on. Around this time I noticed that Jeff was increasingly in thrall to Steve. During one lunch while Steve was mouthing off about something, Jeff got a notepad out and started scribbling. I asked him to read from the pages and here are two of Steve's remarks: firstly, "go left, go right, befriend that person, make love to that person", which I suppose is self-explanatory, and then the rather more obscure "it's a good hole you've got yourself into". Mel suggested that Jeff had misinterpreted Steve by using "hole" instead of "whole" but Steve could not remember and decided on reflection that both meanings of the word could be applied. Jeff amended his notes accordingly. A few weeks later, after another arrest in Yorkshire, Jeff decided to leave the walk. I sat outside Harrogate magistrates' courts with him and Mel as we waited for news of Steve. Jeff was becoming increasingly militant and it placed him at odds with the others. I think he was beginning to see himself as a kind of naked terrorist performing random acts of nudity in a cafe here or park over there, wherever he chose to take his trousers off. On this occasion the target was outside the courtroom and the police were on to him in a flash. By the time we reached Scotland, Steve and Mel were so chafed I'm sure the marketing people at Vaseline were beginning to take notice. Steve seemed also to have completely talked himself out of a motive for the walk. By now his agenda was simply not to have an agenda. In fact he didn't even want to think that he didn't have an agenda because no agenda was in itself an agenda and so on and so forth. As I write this he has just been released from prison in Edinburgh and instantly rearrested at the gate after refusing the offer of a boiler suit from the police. I admire him for his dedication and I think he's going to need it - this could go on for a long time. · One Life: The Naked Rambler, Tue, 10.35pm, BBC1 Richard Macer Saturday November 26, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk

Naked rambler vows to walk on A rambler attempting to walk from Land's End to John O'Groats in the nude has vowed to carry on with his attempt after being released from prison in the Highlands. Steve Gough - from Eastleigh in Hampshire - was jailed in Inverness last week after being arrested as he walked into the city with no clothes on. He was released on bail after promising the sheriff court he would not commit any more offences. But outside the court Mr Gough, who has been detained by police 13 times since setting off on his trek from in June, said he planned to finish the final 120 miles. He declared: "It is nice to be out of prison, but a bit strange to have clothes on. I will be continuing to walk to John O'Groats tonight and I would like to see the back of Inverness for a while." Mr Gough, a former Royal Marine, added: "I don't think I am committing any crimes. I carried on my protest in prison and was kept in solitary confinement because of that." He appeared in court in a scarlet jail blanket, held shut by a police officer, to plead not guilty to breach of the peace. After being granted bail, though, he emerged from the court building fully clothed. He promised that once he was away from the glare of publicity he would strip-off and attempt to continue his walk away from the public eye to avoid being arrested again. Mr Gough set off from Land's End, commonly thought to England's most southerly point, in June for the 847-mile walk. The trip is a protest against what he sees as antiquated attitudes towards nakedness. Mr Gough claims that he is a "normal guy" not an exhibitionist, a naturist or a nudist. He said that there is nothing indecent about the naked body so there is no reason why he should be arrested. Tuesday, 26 August, 2003, 16:15 GMT 17:15 UK Copyright © news.bbc.co.uk

How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA Paul last saw the Gulfstream V about 18 months ago. He comes down to Glasgow airport's planespotters' club most days. He had not seen the plane before so he marked the serial number down in his book. At the time, he did not think there was anything unusual about the Gulfstream being ushered to a stand away from public view, one that could not be seen from the airport terminal or the club's prime view. But that flight this week was at the centre of a transatlantic row that saw the prime minister being put on the spot on the floor of the House of Commons and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, forced on the defensive during a visit to Europe. The Gulfstream V has been identified as having been used by the CIA for "extraordinary renditions" - abducting terror suspects and taking them to secret prisons around the world where they may be tortured. The recording of flights by spotters like Paul from places as far afield as Bournemouth and Karachi has unintentionally played a significant role in helping journalists and human rights groups expose the scale of the CIA's renditions system. But his impact on such international intrigue largely passes Paul by. "It's not the CIA bit that interests us. You don't even know who owns the plane when you take down the serial number," he said, already distracted as something comes in to land through the grey drizzle. "You keep accurate logs, for your own records." At the door of the shabby end terrace which houses the Glasgow Airport Aviation Enthusiasts Club, Paul is considering how his hobby got him tangled in such a complex web. "We know now that these planes are run by the CIA, but it's not something we set out to know," he said. "I have seen the planes land in daytime and I've seen them land at nighttime. You never see anyone get off them. Most of the time they are just coming in to refuel, but the ones coming in at night you would expect to see people getting off. But you don't - at least, I never have." Broadly, planespotters fall into three categories: those who like to take serial numbers, those who like to take photographs, and those who indulge in both. About 40 miles away, on a mound exposed to wind and rain near the freight terminals of Prestwick airport, Stephen, lugging a lens more commonly used by paparazzi lurking in the undergrowth, is setting up a tripod waiting to see what will land today. He knows it won't be as exciting as July, when the planes of G8 leaders and their secret service entourages landed at Prestwick, but he's hoping for a good day. "It's my day off, so I've come over to Prestwick, but I'll go to Glasgow and Edinburgh as well," he said. "I do it mostly for myself - it's been a passion since I was child - but I'll post good photographs on websites too." Stephen clicks the shutter. He doesn't think this one will make airliners.net, his favourite planespotting website. But he'll add it to the collection of hundreds of other plane photographs. Despite the particular eccentricity of planespotting - and the obvious capacity for fun-poking - it is not a pastime limited to Britain. In Spain town planner Josep Manchado is part of a small group who gather with their long lenses and foil-wrapped sandwiches at Majorca's Son Sant Joan airport. In January last year Mr Manchado saw a Boeing 737 on the airport tarmac. He pressed his camera shutter button while speculating idly that some US millionaire was in town. Then he put the picture of the Boeing (tail fin number N313P) on airliners.net, and forgot about it. Within a few days Mr Manchado starting getting strange calls and emails. They came from the US and from Sweden. "People were asking me questions about the plane. They obviously weren't all planespotters because they were asking questions that people who know about planes don't ask," he said. Activists and journalists had become interested in the rendition flights. There were also, however, strange calls. "One man wanted to buy up all the photos. He eventually sent me a form in which he asked for everything, including my home address. I didn't give it to him and I never heard from him again," he said. Months later, he got a call from Germany's ZDF television. A man called Khalid El-Masri had come to them claiming he had been kidnapped by the CIA from Macedonia, bundled onto a plane and taken off to a prison many hours away. Several months later, after allegedly being tortured, he was flown back and dropped in Albania. One of the planes thought to be involved was one Mr Manchado had photographed. It was believed that it had flown on to Macedonia that very same day. With the photo in their hand, ZDF reporters were able to persuade Skopje flight control to give them a printout of the flight plan. The aircraft had gone from Palma to Skopje and from there to Baghdad and Kabul. Mr El-Masri's story, convincingly told but difficult to believe, fitted. For those prepared to sift through the endless information complied by planespotters and posted on websites, there are many more clues to the CIA's activities to be found. In Ireland peace campaigners have turned themselves into planespotters. At Shannon airport Tim Hourigan uses a scanner that allows him to see what air traffic control sees, and he, and other activists, religiously note down the numbers of landing planes. Then, using a combination of Federal Airport Authority Records and planespotting websites, they can track the movements of intelligence planes across the world. "It is a tedious job looking through hundreds of pictures of planes," says Mr Hourigan, who is not a planespotting enthusiast. "But it allows you to confirm and expose the activities of the CIA and our own government." · The planespotters have been given first names only, as they asked not to be identified. Gerard Seenan and Giles Tremlett Saturday December 10, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk

Live Bach in the living room Even those who ride the rarefied airwaves of Radio 3 may occasionally come across something as declassé as a requests programme. Now, the network is taking the concept a step further - by organising musicians to give personal concerts in listeners' own homes. Bach on Call is part of a special 10 days on Radio 3, from next Friday, when every single Bach note will be broadcast. Starting from today, musicians from the BBC's five orchestras, as well as others including Northern Sinfonia and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, will be setting up in front rooms. Radio 3 listeners were invited to nominate friends or family members for their own personalised performance, given by anything from a solo performer to a quartet. A niece has nominated her 88-year-old aunt, stuck in a London hospital. A father has nominated his wife and baby: "It would be a lovely way to introduce a new human being to music," he told Radio 3. Richard Jenkinson, principal cellist of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, will perform two solo cello suites. He said: "Playing in someone's home is very intimate, and it will seem more real." Roger Wright, controller of Radio 3, said: "We wanted to get to people who can't normally get out to events." Charlotte Higgins, arts correspondent Saturday December 10, 2005 Copyright © www.guardian.co.uk