THE PRESIDENT of the Oxford Union is consulting lawyers over a secretly filmed television scoop of an address by OJ Simpson, the former US sports star who was acquitted of murder last year.
The student president, Mr Paul Kenward, said the union might sue "Live TV" over the footage, which the channel has shown several times and sold to a US television programme Hard Copy.
At 30 minutes of highlights, it is at least twice as long as Simpson's appearance on Tonight with Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan on Monday, the main apparent reason for the former football star's recent visit to Britain.
A student smuggled a covert camera past student officials and a metal detector to shoot it.
"It shows what the public wants to see OJ getting a real grilling, not the softly softly approach of Richard and Judy," a "Live TV" spokeswoman said. "We don't anticipate any legal problems."
But Mr Kenward said he wanted to sue the company and the student responsible, who he believed he had identified. "OJ made it clear he did not want any broadcast media present when he gave his address, mainly because of his exclusive contract with Granada TV," Mr Kenward said.
"The only legitimate filming was for our own records, and that is safely in the vaults." Journalists were allowed into the debate at the last minute, but their dictation recorders were taken away.
"I am currently consulting my lawyers about taking legal action against Live TV and the student concerned, perhaps for breach of copyright," Mr Kenward said.
A spokeswoman for Mr Simpson said "OJ had a wonderful time in Oxford, but obviously this has rather soured things."