Planespotters found guilty of spying

Twelve British planespotters were today found guilty of charges relating to spying on the Greek air force.

Amid confusing scenes at a court in southern Greece, six of the Britons, who were arrested at an air force base last year, were sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of espionage.

But the men, who were sentenced alongside two Dutch planespotters, were not jailed as their lawyers immediately launched an appeal against the ruling.

Tonight there was confusion over whether or not they would have to return to Greece. The judge appeared to have accepted that they should go free, sending them a message to be careful in future. Paul Coppin, the leader of the group, said: "I'm disgusted with the whole legal system. It's a shambles. The group seems unable to take in the severity of the sentences and showed little emotion as a media circus broke out."

The court in Kalamata also found the remaining six Britons, including Mr Coppin's wife, guilty of the lesser charge of aiding and abetting espionage.

However, their one-year sentence was commuted and the six Britons, who have already spent six weeks in jail, will now be allowed to return home. Lesley Coppin, who claimed that she had remained in the van doing a crossword while the men looked at the planes, said: "I cannot believe they have done it but I really should know better. This is all about politics. They made a mistake and they won't back down."

Speaking from his home in England, her son Steven Warren said: "It's insane that a mother and a grandmother sitting in a van doing a crossword have been found guilty of espionage."

Mr Coppin's mother Jean Butt also described her disbelief at the sentences. Speaking from her Norfolk home, she said: "I just can't believe it. My son's got three young children at home. Their lawyers assured them that they would not go to jail.

"They have been trying to carry on their lives as normal since this happened but now they are in ruins. It is madness they have been punished for a hobby."

The Britons found guilty of spying were Mr Coppin, 45, of Mildenhall, Suffolk, Londoner Antoni Adamiak, 37, Andrew Jenkins, 32, of York, Peter Norris, 52, of Uxbridge, west London, Gary Fagan, 30, of Kegworth, Leics and Graham Arnold, 38, of Ottershaw, Surrey. The Dutchmen were Patrick Dirksen, 27, of Eindhovenand Frank Mink. 28, of Den Helder. Those found guilty of aiding and abetting included Mrs Coppin, 51, Michael Bursell, 47, of Swanland, near Hull; Michael Keane, 57, of Dartford, Kent; Steven Rush, 38, of Caterham, Surrey; Christopher Wilson, 46, of Gatwick, West Sussex; and Wayne Groves, 38, of Tamworth, Staffs.

Tory MP Gerald Howarth, who has been a pilot for 35 years, described the outcome as "unbelievable".

The Aldershot MP said: "It just seems absolutely incredible and unbelievable that a Greek court should come to this decision.

"There are a huge number of people in this country who go from air show to air show spotting aeroplanes, taking down their details, and you can buy books containing registration numbers of aircraft."

Labour peer Lord Hoyle added: "This is very hard justice."

The judgments were passed after a high profile, three-day trial attended by the Britons' impressive entourage of lawyers, politicians, diplomats, relatives and supporters. The court earlier heard how 12 Britons and the two Dutchman were arrested at a Greek air force base on 8 November last year. They were accused of illegally taking down notes of military aircraft as well as taking pictures without permission at a Kalamata military air show. They were later found to have done the same at three other Greek and Nato bases. It was not until 14 December that they were released from prison and allowed to fly home after each of them posted bail of about £10,000.

While the espionage charges carried a maximum sentence of five years, the original felony charges of espionage, which can carry a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment, were dropped.

The 12 argued that they were members of a London-based planespotting society and did nothing more than collect openly available information on Greek bases and planes.

But planespotting is unknown as a hobby in Greece, and the situation was aggravated by the fact that the leader of the British group had visited Turkey last year as a guest of the Turkish armed forces. An aviation expert testifying in their defence countered that the information they gathered was "microscopic" when compared to what Greece is required by treaty to divulge to other European countries - including rival Turkey.

An aviation editor with Jane's Information Group, Paul Jackson, told the court that Greece provides detailed information on its air force to 30 countries that are signatories to the Conventional Forces Europe treaty - which Greece ratified in 1997.

"The notes are a microscopic amount of the information which Greece is required to give... the treaty members," he said.

Planespotting is "very common" in England, Mr Jackson said, where "some people collect numbers from train engines and buses". Greek authorities said the group were warned three times before their arrest that their activities were suspicious. The group denied ignoring warnings.