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Smoke ban PM lights up on plane 

As the head of a government that took the brave step of banning smoking in public places five months ago, José Sócrates could have been expected to lead by example. Of course, Portugal's prime minister was well known for being partial to a cigarette. But he and his ministers recognised the force of arguments on secondhand smoke and cutting back tobacco consumption.

So it was something of a surprise yesterday when Sócrates was forced to apologise after being caught enjoying a sneaky fag in a very public place: an aircraft. He apparently believed that the curtain that separated the first-class section of the chartered TAP flight from Lisbon to Caracas on Monday would provide cover.

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