I think it might be worth putting this whole thing in some sort of context for the non-UK residents, to understand some of the feelings expressed about David Icke.

As people of a certain age will remember Icke was a highly respected broadcaster in his day who was an anchor on Grandstand, a BBC institution that was beamed for four or five hours every Saturday afternoon into the homes of Britain. In those days you could see first division football, cricket and just about every other sport played on it so it was viewed by a heck of a lot of people. He was one of those familiar faces who had complete credibility - as a BBC broadcaster and sports journalist (he was a goalie for Coventry City until injury forced his retirement at a young age) he was a familiar as a tea cosy and about as trusted.

So when he appeared on Wogan, the change was profound, and people couldn't believe it. If he'd tattooed himself bright orange and ran around Trafalgar Square shouting "I'm a carrot!" he couldn't have made more of an impact. People talked about it for days afterwards, and Icke became a byword for nutters everywhere. In my opinion, Wogan has always been a devout middle Englander (despiter being Irish) and his cheap jibes and knowing smirk give away the fact he was enjoying humilitaing Icke, and today looks a bit rotten here and there.

But . . . Icke is a bright bloke. He was a senior journalist at the BBC, with a high profile and he knew what he was doing. He knew full well how this might play out, and his cried of "foul!" don't quite wash, and guess that's why I have a questioning attitude towards him. I would contend he hasn't been ostracised at all by his own society, and their is a degree of iconoclastism (is that a word?) that runs through the cultures of these Islands that means public figures are open for ridicule - ever read Private Eye? Long may it remain so (I've taken flak for this on this board before, but I'd rather be an iconoclast than a sheep).

I keep an open mind on this sort of thing - as you say LH I have no way of knowing if Icke is correct, the Loch Ness Monster exists or if Villa will win the Premiership next year (although I might be more likely to see one of Icke's lizards than that happens), but I'm entitled to an opinion, and I think he isn't.

But if I'm proved wrong, we could start a resistance movement : )

"Now, consider this. The vast majority of people will always support the most conventional viewpoint and they will heap scorn upon any unconventional one...but the vast majority of people are still sometimes wrong. In fact, they're often wrong. ;-) History will bear me out on that."

You got to hope so - they elected Tony Blair and look where that lead us (he does look a little reptilian though, don't you think?).