[SelfProtection]

Originally Posted by R Jones

There is no possible way the honourable people at BT, a blue chip company of international repute, could ever knowingly mislead the ICO. Just because any reasonable person looking at the evidence now in the public realm and in the total absence of any reasonable alternative explanation or clarification from BT, might conclude that, just because a range of knowledgeable people with relevant experience in the ethical and legal areas that are germaine to this area er... iss - specific thingy - have said they should be prosecuted over the secret trials (including Dr Richard Clayton) - I would just like to say - they can't possibly have misled the ICO. It just wouldn't be right. And I can't afford the libel action so I would never make such a suggestion. It would be very foolish. I'd get sued if I said it. So I won't say it.

Hear that BT - because you might sue me for saying that you misled the ICO - I'm not saying it. I'm a BT customer of many years standing, I've been keeping myself well informed about this. I've studied your covert trials and your leaked documents. I'd love to express my opinion - I'd love to see you hammered by the ICO and I'd love to see the police raid your head office but I can't say you misled the ICO.

I am familiar with your management style. I am familiar with the way you do things. And although all the bits of the jigsaw appear to fit in a particular way, although all the signposts appear to point me in a particular direction, I won't say you misled the ICO. Of course you didn't. I can't think of any other interpretation of the facts, but if you say you didn't mislead the ICO then of course you didn't. There may be no explanation that makes the slightest sense, but nevertheless you didn't mislead the ICO.

But I'm very very angry. With BT for their obsession with covert and stealth activity, and with the ICO for being so feeble and guillible. Not that you misled him. Of course not. I don't want to be sued. So I won't say it. You wouldn't mislead the ICO. You misled your customers and called it "transparency" but of course you didn't mislead the ICO.

Perhaps we should all post on BT Beta forums saying "Of course BT didn't mislead the ICO" 1000 times, just like when we were at school doing lines? No - don't do that it would be very naughty.

I've come to the conclusion that neither the BT nor the ICO actually understand rational reasonable factual argument. I couldn't possibly speculate as to why that might be.

Maybe you didn't mislead the ICO. Maybe the Commissioner just doesn't fully understand his duties. Maybe someone is leaning on him. Maybe the ICO is a fig leaf. I don't know.

Maybe ridicule will work better?

Of course if BT write to me demanding a retraction of this post - then in obedience to the legal muscle I will of course retract this post, in which I insist that BT did not mislead the ICO.

I hope that BT appreciate just how loyal their customers are. Just like those who line the streets of Harare to cheer Mr. Mugabe, just like those who chanted in support of Enver Hoxha and Joseph Stalin and Nicolai Caucescu, we loyal BT customers join together, in very very straight row, conscious of your friendly lawyers alongside us, and we say,

Viva BT! standard bearers for integrity, transparency and compliance!

If the moderators don't object I will cache this post in case it is ordered to be removed!