MAIL ON SUNDAY: Tubular Bells composer Mike Oldfield has quit Britain because the smoking ban and health-and-safety culture have made life "intolerable".
The multi-millionaire is selling his £3.5million Gloucestershire mansion and has moved to Spain, where he says people have more freedom.
He said Britain had become too strict, with its "ludicrous" emphasis on health-and-safety rules and the increased use of CCTV and speed cameras.
The 54-year-old musician told The Mail on Sunday: "I went to a very strict prep school. You were so restricted. It was one of the worst times in my life.
"Britain has been getting more and more like that, what with this health-and-safety business.
"In my local town, Thornbury, the old man who runs the hardware shop has to sneak out to the backyard to have a cigarette.
What's the harm in him being in the office in the back of his shop?" Mike Oldfield quits 'prep school Britain' over smoking ban (more) By James Tapper and Dave Newman
Mark Alexander
