Tag: email

Things go from bad to worse at Wirral Council as now 3 emails about censorship to councillors are censored!

Things go from bad to worse at Wirral Council as now 3 emails about censorship to councillors are censored!

Things go from bad to worse at Wirral Council as now 3 emails about censorship to councillors are censored!

                                                                                        

Wirral Council bans filming and public from public meeting

A picture reminder above of times gone by at Wirral Council

In the “you couldn’t make it up if I tried”, my emails about censorship have indeed been censored!

Oh well, I can always go old-fashioned, print off a copy and deliver it in person on Tuesday evening! As some councillors don’t have an email address shown on Wirral Council’s website it might be necessary anyway.

What’s also interesting is that the automatic forwarding of emails to addresses outside Wirral Council, I thought that used to be prohibited by their IT policy or has that changed?

Here is what the IT policy on their website states (although knowing Wirral Council this may be out of date):

Users must comply with the Code of Practice relating to the Use of Internet, Electronic Mail and Telecommunications Facilities (reproduced at Appendix 4). The equivalent Code of Practice for Members must be adhered to by all Councillors. The following points should be noted:

The automatic forwarding of electronic mail from a Wirral Council email account to another email account in a lower classification domain (eg – an internet email account such as hotmail) is prohibited by Government Connect.

Here is the relevant section on the Code of Practice for councillors (which shows that residents communications with councillors referred to as Members in the policy via email are not classed as private by Wirral Council):

15. In the interest of national security, Members using Government Connect Secure Extranet (GCSx) or Government Secure Intranet (GSi) e-mail addresses may have their communications monitored by Government agencies. The contents of a Members email folders may be accessed by officers of the Council, or Police Officers, as part of any investigation into inappropriate use of e-mail, or complaint against the conduct of a Member.

16. Members must not automatically or manually forward electronic mail from a Wirral Council email account to another email account in a lower classification domain (ie – an internet email account such as Hotmail or personal email account).

As if to confirm my views on Wirral Council and censorship within minutes of emailing I started receiving these replies (which as my email didn’t contain any attachments are incorrect anyway). I might point out these emails also reveal councillors’ private rather than Wirral Council email addresses in a lower classification domain and certainly an attempt by automated systems to breach s.16 of this code of practice.

Blocked email – Undetermined format out

Subject: Blocked Email Outgoing – Undetermined Format

Dear john.brace@gmail.com,

Inline with Corporate Policy an email addressed from you has been blocked.
This email contains a potentially unsafe attachment and therefore has been blocked. Emails in an undetermined format cannot be further scanned for viruses and are quarantined.

If it is essential that you have it delivered, then simply reply to this email and a job will be logged with the IT Service Desk on your behalf.

If you need to include a message to IT Services regarding the release of this email, please scroll to the very bottom of this email and write your comments as indicated.

If you experience any problems carrying out the above, please call the IT Service Desk on (0151) 666 4080. Otherwise the email which has been blocked will be automatically deleted within 30 days.

The details of the email are as follows:

Addressed To: andrewhodson@entirefm.co.uk
Blocked from: john.brace@gmail.com
Dated: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 12:34:52 +0000
Subject: filming of public meetings at Wirral Council
Message area: Message Processing Failure Outgoing

Kind regards,
IT Services

=================================================================
For IT Services Use Only
=================================================================

[Standard Call] Release a blocked email
[Call reference 3] Via VQSMDaemon
[Comments]
Addressed To: andrewhodson@entirefm.co.uk

Blocked email – Undetermined format out

Subject: Blocked Email Outgoing – Undetermined Format

Dear john.brace@gmail.com,

Inline with Corporate Policy an email addressed from you has been blocked.
This email contains a potentially unsafe attachment and therefore has been blocked. Emails in an undetermined format cannot be further scanned for viruses and are quarantined.

If it is essential that you have it delivered, then simply reply to this email and a job will be logged with the IT Service Desk on your behalf.

If you need to include a message to IT Services regarding the release of this email, please scroll to the very bottom of this email and write your comments as indicated.

If you experience any problems carrying out the above, please call the IT Service Desk on (0151) 666 4080. Otherwise the email which has been blocked will be automatically deleted within 30 days.

The details of the email are as follows:

Addressed To: j.salter446@btinternet.com
Blocked from: john.brace@gmail.com
Dated: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 12:34:52 +0000
Subject: filming of public meetings at Wirral Council
Message area: Message Processing Failure Outgoing

Kind regards,
IT Services

=================================================================
For IT Services Use Only
=================================================================

[Standard Call] Release a blocked email
[Call reference 3] Via VQSMDaemon
[Comments]
Addressed To: j.salter446@btinternet.com

Blocked email – Undetermined format out

Subject: Blocked Email Outgoing – Undetermined Format

Dear john.brace@gmail.com,

Inline with Corporate Policy an email addressed from you has been blocked.
This email contains a potentially unsafe attachment and therefore has been blocked. Emails in an undetermined format cannot be further scanned for viruses and are quarantined.

If it is essential that you have it delivered, then simply reply to this email and a job will be logged with the IT Service Desk on your behalf.

If you need to include a message to IT Services regarding the release of this email, please scroll to the very bottom of this email and write your comments as indicated.

If you experience any problems carrying out the above, please call the IT Service Desk on (0151) 666 4080. Otherwise the email which has been blocked will be automatically deleted within 30 days.

The details of the email are as follows:

Addressed To: steve.niblock@ntlworld.com
Blocked from: john.brace@gmail.com
Dated: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 12:34:52 +0000
Subject: filming of public meetings at Wirral Council
Message area: Message Processing Failure Outgoing

Kind regards,
IT Services

=================================================================
For IT Services Use Only
=================================================================

[Standard Call] Release a blocked email
[Call reference 3] Via VQSMDaemon
[Comments]
Addressed To: steve.niblock@ntlworld.com
Blocked from: john.brace@gmail.com
Dated: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 12:34:52 +0000
Subject: filming of public meetings at Wirral Council
Message area: Message Processing Failure Outgoing

=================================================================
Comments for IT Services :: For Customer Use Only

=================================================================

Comments for IT Services:

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Wirral Council takes 5 minutes to U-turn on libel threat over Graham Burgess golf email to councillors

Wirral Council takes 5 minutes to U-turn on libel threat over Graham Burgess golf email to councillors

Wirral Council takes 5 minutes to U-turn on libel threat over Graham Burgess golf email to councillors

                           

Wirral Host of the Open Championship 2014

Yesterday’s blog post about Graham Burgess inviting councillors to the Open Golf Championship seems to have hit a raw nerve somewhere at Wirral Council as it led to an email from Wirral Council’s Head of Legal and Member Services being sent to myself this morning which in the interests of openness and transparency I include below (along with a further email from Surjit Tour five minutes later withdrawing his original email and my response to the original email).

from: Tour, Surjit
to: John Brace
date: 4 July 2014 10:06
subject: Your Blog – (A Blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council’s Councillors and Officers) – Fraudulent Email
mailed-by: wirral.gov.uk

Dear Mr Brace

Your Blog – (A Blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council’s Councillors and Officers) – Fraudulent Email

It has been brought to my attention that you have posted on your blog (referred to above) an entry dated 3 July titled “Graham Burgess invites Wirral Council Councillors to 5 days of the Open Gold Championship”.

The blog purports to include an email dated 12 June 2014 (timed at 11:49) from Graham Burgess to Wirral Councillors. The content of the email has been edited and is fraudulent and misleading.

This is clearly a serious matter and I formally request that you immediately remove the email and the associated commentary concerning this subject matter from your blog.

The Council would prefer to avoid taking action in respect of this entry; however, I must put you on notice that the Council will have little alternative but to consider alternative action should you refuse or fail to remove this entry from your blog forthwith.

I would be grateful if you would confirm how you came into possession of the aforementioned email and/or its content.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Surjit Tour
Head of Legal & Member Services
and Monitoring Officer
Department of Transformation and Resources
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Town Hall
Brighton Street
Wallasey
Wirral
CH44 8ED

Tel: 0151 691 8569
Fax: 0151 691 8482
Email: surjittour@wirral.gov.uk

Visit our website: www.wirral.gov.uk

**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses.
www.clearswift.com
**********************************************************************

from: Tour, Surjit
to: John Brace
date: 4 July 2014 10:11
subject: Recall: Your Blog – (A Blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council’s Councillors and Officers) – Fraudulent Email
mailed-by: wirral.gov.uk

Tour, Surjit would like to recall the message, “Your Blog – (A Blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council’s Councillors and Officers) – Fraudulent Email”.

**********************************************************************

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses.
www.clearswift.com

**********************************************************************

Dear Mr. Tour,

Thank you for your email. Might I take the opportunity to correct you that you have given it an incorrect title using “Open Gold Championship” instead of “Open Golf Championship” .

You state “The content of the email has been edited and is fraudulent and misleading.” yet you do not specify how the email has been edited, or is fraudulent or misleading.

You ask me to remove the associated commentary, which I presume by that you mean comments left by individuals in response to the blog post. Respectfully I direct you to The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 in respect of the blog post and comments.

Regulation 2 requires a notice of complaint to contain the information outlined below (along with other legal requirements not specified here):

(c) set out the aspects of the statement which the complainant believes are

(i) factually inaccurate; or

(ii) opinions not supported by fact;

which your email does not.

In respect of comments that I have not written on that blog post, as a valid notice of complaint has not been received, s. 5(2) of the Defamation Act 2013 states “It is a defence for the operator to show that it was not the operator who posted the statement on the website.”

I might also point out there is existing case law which bans “The Council” starting a libel action.

I refer you to the famous case law in this matter which was decided in the House of Lords in Derbyshire County Council v. Times Newspapers Limited and others and I quote from that judgement “The same applies, in my opinion, to local authorities. In both cases I regard it as right for this House to lay down that not only is there no public interest favouring the right of organs of government, whether central or local, to sue for libel, but that it is contrary to the public interest that they should have it. It is contrary to the public interest because to admit such actions would place an undesirable fetter on freedom of speech.”

Thank you for your request asking me “I would be grateful if you would confirm how you came into possession of the aforementioned email and/or its content.”

If I was to reveal the source of the email, it would damage my reputation as the press have to protect their sources of information. I’m sorry but I cannot tell you.

Yours sincerely,

John Brace

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