Controversial author Salman Rushdie entertained a 1,000-strong crowd amid tight security at the Oxford Union last night, writes Karen Rosine.

A heavy police guard, including officers hidden in the rooftops, surrounded the event and there were elaborate security checks before people were allowed in.

The union, which was closed for the day, had been checked in a major week-long security blitz using sniffer dogs and metal detectors.

Mr Rushdie, who is promoting his new book, became the victim of a Muslim fatwah death sentence after his book The Satanic Verses was published ten years ago. Despite the Iranian Government's dissociation from the fatwah, Mr Rushdie is still a controversial figure with a price on his head.

But the visit, in the run up to the annual Booker Prize, passed off peacefully, with a talk lasting an hour and a quarter followed by a book signing.

Students queued halfway down Cornmarket Street for a chance to see the best-selling author who has already won the Booker Prize with his novel Midnight's Children.

The start of the talk was put back 45 minutes because of the sheer number of people. Before the event, Mr Rushdie told the Oxford Mail that, although Cambridge educated, he was "very fond" of Oxford.

He said he had visited the city before when he was publicising his last novel The Moor's Last Sigh and had a number of friends here.

Asked if he was fed up with the elaborate security, he said an emphatic "Yes" adding: "And you can underline that." When the event finally started in the debating chamber, Mr Rushdie opened his speech with a joke about the security saying: "Thanks for your patience and sorry about the strip search, except for those of you who enjoyed that."

He then answered questions ranging from his tastes in music - rock and roll, Lauryn Hill and REM - to questions about his love of mythology and his literary influences.

Story date: Wednesday 19 May

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