Ummmm, please explain why stealing from the UK tax payer is any different from stealing from a software manufacturer or movie studio. Are there a different set of laws for this content?

It is not free for me in the UK to watch Top Gear or Dr Who, I am legally bound to pay a TV licence. I have no option but to pay this if I own a TV set, even if I don't watch the BBC and just watch DVDs I still have to pay the licence. It's not a subscription it's a form of tax on me. The BBC sells it's content worldwide to further off set the production cost so I get a better quality program to watch, so if it's legally available in your country on subscription I don't see why you apply a different set of rules to it.

People are regularly prosecuted and sometimes even jailed in the UK for not paying their TV licence, the same punishment can't be said for people downloading Top Gear on Torrent. Fair ???

Don't get me wrong everyone does it, just interested in your rational.

Cheers

Cris.

Edit - BTW good points on the legal use of Torrents, I guess sharing large files still is a pain in the ass on the internet.