Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

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Hello and thank you for downloading the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me Chloe Hadgemethieu.

Today I'm taking you back to late 2001 when a group of British tourists were arrested in Greece

and put on trial for spying.

Twelve British aircraft enthusiasts will face new spying charges in a Greek court today. The

Britons say they were in the country on a plane spotting holiday and deny the

charges. It has been the optimistic prediction of the defense lawyers all along

that this case was patently so absurd

that of course these 12 Britons and the two Dutch citizens would be released straight

away. I thought was a joke. I mean spy, I remember when we first heard it,

spying. What do you mean spying, you know?

Paul Copin is a taxi driver and a plane enthusiast from Mildenhall, a quiet little town on the

east coast of England. While he was on holiday in Greece, he found himself at the

centre of an international espionage incident. The trip started out innocently enough as a tour for fellow

aeroplane enthusiasts.

At the end of November they have a patron saint of the Air Force and over a three-day period,

...