Allegations are being made that the song due to be sung by Antony Costa in the UK final Making your mind up is facing disqualification, after it was claimed that the song was available for the public to download before the cut-off date of October 2005.
It has emerged that the song Beautiful thing was recorded as a demo track in 2004, but was never officially made available or released. The BBC were apparently aware of this, but had no cause to worry since it was believed that the song had not been released, and therefore had not contravened the contest rules.
However, the track is currently available for download on the page of the original artist, Michelle Lawson, at the site 247dna, for a fee. Details on the site suggest that the song was available online last July; confirmation of this is expected soon. Antony's song only faces trouble if it was available to the public before the agreed date of October.
Allegations of disqualification are premature, until the date of publication is confirmed; if the song was available only after the cut-off date, Antony will be free to sing it in the UK final. There is still no official word from the BBC, but an official comment is expected by tomorrow morning.