Out in the northern Pacific, scientists have pulled off a spectacular scoop. They have observed and photographed for the first time a giant squid in its wild habitat, some 3,000ft down in the ocean.

Described in the journal of the Royal Society, the event has caused great excitement. The scientists, from Japan, obtained the pictures after tracking sperm whales, the squid's only known predator. Discovering a whale gathering ground, they lowered a digital camera, which soon obtained 550 images of a huge squid, 26ft long.

British scientist Dr Martin Collins, of the British Antarctic survey, expresses the thrill that has seemingly animated maritime scientists worldwide. "People have been trying to photograph a giant squid for quite a while. It is fantastic that someone has done it.''

Yes, fantastic. But also sickening. Because the squid didn't just happen along. It was attracted by sperm-whale bait, on hooks. The squid became snagged on the hooks and struggled desperately for four hours to free itself. It succeeded only at the cost of severing an 18ft tentacle.

Is such cruelty justified in the name of research? No. That squid was quietly getting on with its own life, in its natural environment, before man the meddler, man the destroyer, turned up. It is better that we know nothing about such wonderful creatures, beyond marvelling at their existence, than that we inflict pain and terror to gather knowledge.

And what has been learned from this ghastly episode? "Some people thought the squid drifted around and caught whatever went by,'' says Dr Collins. "The evidence of the Japanese investigation is that they are very active. Their tentacles dart out, and the way this one became entangled and dragged the camera shows that they are quite powerful.''

The absence of dissent over how this modest insight was gained damns us all. We don't deserve the rich wildlife with which we share our planet.

Will Tony Blair step aside for Gordon Brown? Perhaps, but only when stepping aside also means stepping up. With blood on his hands over Iraq, Tony has probably ruled himself out from becoming Secretary General of the UN. Meanwhile, the once-anticipated post of a full-time EU president has receded with 'No' votes on the constitution. Tony might have decided to hang on because there is nowhere elevated enough for him to go. Not for him such EU roles as commissioner for knicker supplies (Peter Mandelson) or prioritising bypasses (Neil Kinnock).

The Lottery wealth of the rapist being protected at public expense in Sunderland is a red herring. The real issue is whether a man with sex convictions dating back almost 30 years should be in the community at all. Answers, please, to Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

And perhaps you could ask Mr Clarke how come Wife Swap star Lizzy Bardsley, who has swindled (OK, falsely-claimed) £4,897 in benefits is merely required to pay back the money, while pensioner Sylvia Hardy, goes to jail for withholding £53 of her council tax?

Good to see members of the Tory party recognising the need to reduce greenhouse gases. A dozen or so of them, mainly young bloods, flew to Blackpool from London, on a Ryanair flight costing £1.