I'm not saying anything is likely, or what the odds are. I am reminded of that Mars probe that plummeted to its death because some idiot didn't notice that the europeans all used meters and the americans all used feet. There was nothing unsound at all with their science, it was just human error.
Speaking of human error, and speaking so to speak hehe, I will agree with Warren that Professor Brian Cox has issues.
"(b) exist, but do not eat neutron stars and are therefore harmless, probably because they evaporate away very quickly indeed!"
No relation to the price of tea in china last I checked.
"This non-story is symptomatic of a larger mistrust in science, particularly in the US, which includes intelligent design amongst other things."
Guaranteed to cut off any possible future funding from the religious right currently running the US government.
A scientist should always stick to science, not state his opinions. By stating his opinions he discredits anything he previously stated as fact. ie. was it really a fact or was it his opinion that everything is 100% safe. And no I'm not trying to reopen the can of worms, just stating the observation that knowing when to keep your mouth shut can sometimes be more important than knowing what to say.