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Reacting to his stepping down, Lord Robert Winston, professor of science and society at Imperial College London, said: “I fear that in this action the Royal Society may have only diminished itself.
“This is not a good day for the reputation of science or scientists.
“This individual was arguing that we should engage with and address public misconceptions about science – something that the Royal Society should applaud.”
Dr Roland Jackson, chief executive of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, said Prof Reiss’s departure was a “real loss”.
“I was at the actual discussion and what I heard him say , however it has been reported, was essentially the position advocated by the Royal Society,” he said.
Dr Jackson said the organisation “should have supported him and used this opportunity to further a reasoned debate”.
Professor Chris Higgins, vice-chancellor of the University of Durham, said: “There should be no room for doubt – creationism is completely unsupportable as a theory, and the only reason to mention creationism in schools is to enable teachers to demonstrate why the idea is scientific nonsense and has no basis in evidence or rational thought.”
Professor Michael Reiss has quit as director of education at the Royal Society following the controversy over his recent comments on creationism.
Last week Prof Reiss – a Church of England minister – said creationism should be discussed in science lessons if pupils raised the issue.
He was criticised by other scientists – though misquoted as saying creationism should be “taught” in science classes.
The society said some of his comments had been “open to misinterpretation”.
This had damaged its reputation.
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The BBC has now ended a controversial school choir contest that is said to have left many children disappointed.
Choirs were invited to upload videos of themselves to a website, in a contest alongside the TV talent search for a new Joseph for the West End musical.
People could then rate the choirs online. But there have been complaints about problems with the system, which even had to be suspended for a time.
The BBC has accused some of unfairly trying to boost their choir’s chances.
When it reinstated the voting system last Monday, it then insisted people must register to take part.
Explaining this, the programme makers said they had been “amazed by the high levels of rating and the lengths that people will take to improve their choir’s ranking”.
“Asking you to login and verify your e-mail address acts as an extra deterrent for those trying to break the rules of the competition.”
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Schools were ranked on the average rating they got, from five for excellent to one for poor – not simply how many votes they picked up.
Some people might have misunderstood what they had to do.
“When you rate, you need only click on one multicoloured coat,” the website explained.
“So, for example, if you wish to rate the choir a four, you click on the fourth coat along in the row. You should not click coats one, two, three and four.”
But there have also been claims that people not only repeatedly gave their own choir the highest rating, but also repeatedly gave a low rating to competitors.
In their “frequently asked questions”, the producers said it had been “far more popular than we anticipated”, with hundreds of votes per minute straining the database.
In answer to the question, How come I can vote more than once? they say: “We identify voters via a bunch of different measures. Some of these measures take place after you’ve voted.
“Periodically, we sweep the database to remove votes for the same choir that we believe come from the same person.
“This system isn’t perfect, but we have gone to considerable lengths to ensure it is a fair as possible and we believe it is generating accurate results.”
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2009
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Mead is one of three performers who won West End roles on Saturday night.
Earlier in the evening, Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden were crowned the winners of ITV1’s Grease Is The Word.
The duo, who were also picked by a public phone vote, will take the lead roles of Danny and Sandy in a Piccadilly Theatre production of Grease starting on 8 August.
McFadden, 24, from Dublin, is the sister of former Westlife singer Brian McFadden.
She told presenter Zoe Ball: “I can’t wait. I’ve waited so long to get here.”
Bayne, 19, from Welling, south London, beat Anthony Kavanagh – who had two Top 10 hits in the 1990s under the name Kavana.
Any Dream Will Do and Grease Is The Word have been pitched against each other in a ratings battle.
But the BBC’s show has been the winner in the ratings so far, with 4.9 million watching last Saturday’s Any Dream Will Do compared with Grease is the Word’s 2.9 million viewers.
Booking has already opened for both productions
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The losses caused a shortage of men within the clan which lasted for several generations.
Mr McRae said: “It has been suggested that a metal detector survey could be carried out to identify artefacts and human remains and any that are found be dug up under
the supervision of an archaeologist.
“We don’t think it should be dug up at all.”
The clan society, and others concerned by what may happen to the battlefield, have staged a number of protest marches in the area to raise awareness of the issue.
“We would like to see the pylons routed right round the battlefield with no disturbance to the ground and no disturbance to the remains of the men who have lain here
for all that time,” he said.
“A lot of people don’t know there was a battle here and a lot don’t know what is planned here. A public inquiry will bring this to people’s attention.”
In a statement, Scottish and Southern Energy said: “We continue to believe we have submitted a robust application and SSE will make a fully informed decision about the
route of the proposed overhead transmission line and its potential impact on the landscape and archaeology related to this area of historical interest.”
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2009
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A presentation was made by SSE officials and objectors also had the opportunity to make their views known.
John Rennilson, the council’s planning director, said: “Although the committee recognises that a high voltage electricity transmission system is key for the
development of renewable energy in the Highlands, they did not feel that the proposal presented to them today was acceptable.”
The committee said it also wanted to wait for a government report on the possible link associated with high voltage overhead power lines and cases of childhood
leukaemia.
Mr Rennilson said alternatives to the power line – such as laying it underground – must be explored at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Rennilson said: “This is an important issue and we cannot afford to tread water until the public inquiry in the autumn.”
SSE head of sustainable development, Dr Keith Maclean, said under-grounding would cost much more and mean environmental and maintenance problems.
But he said the option of burying some sections had not been ruled out.
Dr Maclean said: “The under-grounding issue is one that always causes a problem at this voltage.
“Most people’s view of an underground line is something under the pavement or under the road, but we are talking about a development in itself the size of a motorway.
“That has serious implications on the environment. It also has serious cost implications.”
He added: “We make quite clear in our report there are conditions whereby we would look at under-grounding.
“Our belief with the application was we had not got to that stage.
“We have to listen to what has been said from the consultation process and we will talk to the main stakeholders to look at all options to overcome the remaining
concerns that they have.”
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The larger pylons would reach up to 65m high, although there would be 200 fewer of them than at present.
Protesters have said the higher pylons would cause environmental and aesthetic damage.
But the industry forum, Scottish Renewables, argued that the upgrade was crucial to the future production of “green” energy.
Highland Council had already decided to object formally to the plans because of their “significant adverse impact” on certain areas.
Councillors also called for further investigations into alternatives to the pylons, such as burying the power line.
Following that decision, SSE head of sustainable development Dr Keith Maclean said putting it underground would cost much more and mean environmental and maintenance
problems.
But he said the option of burying some sections had not been ruled out.
Councillors in Stirling called for a public inquiry at meetings in February and March and will take a formal view at the council’s planning committee on 4 May.
Clackmannanshire’s full council raised an objection against the proposal in February.
The authority is not a statutory consultee, but councillors wanted to record their opposition because of their concerns the pylons would impact on the nearby Ochil
Hills.
Perth and Kinross Council’s planning committee also ruled against the proposal last week.
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The Cairngorms National Park Authority has formally objected to a major upgrade of the electricity supply from the Highlands to Stirlingshire.
The authority’s planning committee met on Friday to consider a recommendation from planning officials to oppose the proposed “super-pylons”.
The objection focuses on a section of the route for the new pylons which goes through the 4,000 sq km national park.
The plans have been put forward by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE).
They consist of 600 electricity pylons between Beauly in the Highlands and Denny, near Falkirk, running through the Cairngorms National Park and within sight of the
Wallace Monument in Stirling.
Park authority convener Andrew Thin called on SSE to consider more seriously placing the lines underground.
He called on the Scottish Executive to set up meetings with all interested bodies to consider the whole proposal and avoid the need for a public inquiry.
SSE said it hopes to avoid the matter going to a public inquiry by continuing talks with councils.
A spokesman said: “If a public inquiry is called then we will go into that in a positive and constructive way.
“A much better option in terms to resolve the issues, if councils are not opposed to the line in principle and only some of the detail, is to hopefully continue talks
to avoid, or at least reduce the scope, of a public inquiry.”
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