Tories attack email deletion order

Anthony Butcher · 19-12-2004, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Tony Blair was accused of fostering a cover-up culture after civil servants were ordered to delete millions of emails.

The Cabinet Office, effectively the Prime Minister's department, says messages more than three months old must be wiped, The Times revealed.

The deadline comes just 11 days before the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act comes INTO phpbb_force.

Conservative leader Michael Howard has written to Mr Blair demanding an explanation.
"There are reports that your Government is engaged on a massive email destruction binge in order to get round the law which you yourself passed," he wrote.

"How hypocritical can you get ? What is your Government trying to hide ?

"The public are entitled to a clear and simple explanation as to what is going on."

Many officials, including those in the PM's Strategy Unit and the offices of Alan Milburn and Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull, receive around 100 emails a day.

The Cabinet Office's 2,000 staff have been told to print and file emails that should be disclosed but there will be no supervision.

Intbel · 19-12-2004, 03:15 AM

A key sentence is:

Quote:

The Cabinet Office's 2,000 staff have been told to print and file emails that should be disclosed but there will be no supervision.

A boring task indeed.
What better way to get through it quickly than just to delete, delete and delete.

There ought to be supervision.

Gotta laugh - implement a freedom of information thingo and make sure info is deleted before the rules come INTO phpbb_force so there can be no accusations of access to information being denied - because there is no information to access.

Got it all wrapped up quite nicely, hasn't he?

The *******!

Julian Morrison · 19-12-2004, 08:41 AM

Heh, it may be bad for FOI but it'll be bad for them too. "Where's that email I sent to Jim a month back asking for a report on blahdiblah?" "Sorry, emails that far back have been wiped. And he says you never sent him one anyway, and asks what report?"

Confusion to my enemies.

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19-12-2004, 08:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
Julian Morrison Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Banbury, England Posts: 198	Heh, it may be bad for FOI but it'll be bad for them too. "Where's that email I sent to Jim a month back asking for a report on blahdiblah?" "Sorry, emails that far back have been wiped. And he says you never sent him one anyway, and asks what report?" Confusion to my enemies.