Would you like to meet this dog on a dark night?

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxxx

Thank you for your e-mail regarding the 17 May edition of 'The Real Hustle'.

I understand that you were concerned about a house breaking scene during the
programme because you felt it would have caused the house owner some distress.

The 'Real Hustle' presenters demonstrate scams old and new, with talking heads
providing advice on how to avoid being scammed. The programme strives to reveal
how damaging such fraud can be to both businesses and individuals alike. I can
assure you that all members of the public who take part are fully informed of
the cons / scams straight away afterwards to minimise worry and are repaid any
money they had lost.

Please be assured that the strength of your concerns has been registered on our
daily log for the attention of 'The Real Hustle' production team and BBC Senior
Management. Styles and policies are continually being assessed and changed
based on feedback from the general public, and comments such as your own form a
vital part of the monitoring process we constantly undertake.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Regards

Rory Egan
BBC Information

I watched the Real Hustle program tonight on BBC3 and I think the BBC have gone beyond the bounds of decency, in arranging for someone's house to be broken into.

If you haven't seen the program, it features 3 con artists who carry out real life scams to demonstrate how people can be ripped off. The idea is to educate us so that we won't fall for them ourselves. The victims are real people who fall for the real scams, but afterwards they are told what has happened, they get their money/property back and they agree to appear on the program. However, in tonight's program they entered someone's private property without the occupier's permission. first they obtained one of his bank statements, presumably by rifling through his dustbins (I missed the first minute or so); so that they could steal his identity. They then used this to make some sort of ID card. when the occupier had gone out for a while,one of the hustlers (a woman) called out a locksmith, claiming to have been locked out of her house, and used the fake ID to convince him that she was actually the occupier. He then picked the lock for her and she paid using a dodgy cheque which would not clear. She then proceeded to empty the house of some valuables. The idea of course was to teach people to be careful of ID theft, and how easy someone could get into your house this way. When the occupier got back he was obviously quite distressed when he discovered that his house had been burgled, and then looked quite relieved when he found out the real situation.

I felt quite angry that the BBC would allow one of their program makers to go this far. One of the other hustlers actually made a comment during the program that victims of burglary sometimes do not feel the same about living in their house anymore, because it is such a traumatic event and an invasion of privacy. So how do they know that this particular guy is not going to be permanently affected by this? He might have agreed to appear on the program, but he cannot exactly say after the event 'but I would prefer if you did not break into my house and steal my valuables'. It is one thing to scam someone in the street or in a pub, but quite another to abuse their house in this way.
I have made an official complaint to the BBC. I will let you know what their comments are.

What do you think?

I think it's great that councils are taking action against people who drop litter, even if the individuals concerned feel hard done by. I was brought up never to drop any litter in the street, and to keep it until I came across a bin. It really rankles me when I see people using the street as a rubbish bin; they seem to assume that 'someone will clear it up.' Perhaps that is true, but it shows a lack of respect for other people who share the streets, it shows a lack of respect for the environment. How would they like it if a few bags of refuse was dumped on their doorstep?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4968534.stm

The police in the Algarve seem just as uncertain as anyone else about what might have happened to her. They keep saying that they do not want to reveal any information about their investigations, but I think this is because they have not got any information.
One thing is for certain; Madeleine's parents must be going through the worst hell. There will be a deep deep regret for having left the children unnattended. If she does eventually turn up safe and well, there will be a huge relief felt by them, and it will have been a tough lesson not to ever leave young children unsupervised for any length of time, just so that they can have a meal without the kids.

I think that now that the whole world knows what she looks like, especially her unusual right eye, if she is going to be found it will be in the next few weeks; this is assuming that she was abducted by someone who is looking after her; the girl can't be hidden forever.
I'm afraid the alternatives as to what has happened to her involve thinking about the unthinkable. That will surely be praying on her parent's minds most of all.

This is one of my favourite pieces of classical music. 'The New World Symphony' by Dvorak, played by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by the late Herbert Von Karajan.