re. Stephen Gough ,The Naked Rambler, we request that his ASBO be lifted and for him to be released from prison immediately .

In his book Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela writes: “Prison and the authorities conspire to rob each man of dignity.” and quoting the German Constitutional Court, Chaskalson said: “Respect for human dignity especially requires the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments. [The state] cannot turn the offender into an object of crime prevention to the detriment of his constitutionally protected right to social worth and respect.”

The former Director of Public Prosecutions, Lord Macdonald explains "This man is not a danger to anybody, he's a nuisance. He's an eccentric, as far as one can tell he's a harmless eccentric. He's spent around 10 years in prison, that's £40,000 a year. This seems to be a draconian, quite inappropriate response to his behaviour."

Lord Macdonald believes it is not in the public interest to prosecute Mr Gough.

Stephen Gough has been repeatedly imprisoned for simple public nudity. He has spent many years in prison now for his belief that the naked human body is harmless and for the freedom to choose his clothing.

He is the only person in the UK for whom to be simply naked is a crime punishable by a jail term and yet he was arrested for walking naked yet again on September 11th near Twyford, Hampshire on a trek to Eastleigh , after just 4 weeks of freedom. He is now remanded in custody awaiting trial on December 18th at Winchester Court - simply for a further breach of this ASBO.

Once upon a time and not so long ago homosexuality was illegal in the UK and many suffered as a result.Thankfully society has evolved and feelings have changed so that the law has been altered and our society has grown up accordingly .The naked human is a feature of all of our lives through the media and in charity calendars, bike rides and more these days. The impact of a continued incarceration on Mr. Gough is far more damaging than the potential impact of the fleeting sight of him naked to a passerby.The ASBO means that Steve may be arrested if seen naked by a police officer- even if there has been no report of alarm or distress caused to members of the public.