Robbie Williams Supports File Sharing

[MIKE BURN]

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Robbie Williams has been slammed by a Government minister for saying Internet piracy was "great". Culture minister Kim Howells accused the singer of supporting drug and prostitution. Mr Howells said he was "appalled" at the chart-topping star's comments which amounted to "defending theft".



Williams - whose album Escapology was last year's biggest seller in the UK - made his remarks at a music conference in Cannes. He is reported to have said of Internet piracy: "I think it's great, really I do. There is nothing anyone can do about it. "I am sure my record label would hate me saying it, and my manager and my accountants."



Mr Howells said: "Williams should not be defending theft, and this is real theft. "It is the equivalent of going into a record store and shoplifting the material on sale. I hope that musicians everywhere will condemn his statement. "He should also realise that many of these pirate operations are linked to organised crime on a worldwide basis," he told Guardian Unlimited.



Williams said he spoke to the heads of record labels about online piracy when he discussed his new £80m record deal last year but found they "don't know what to do about it".

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MIKE