(Thanks for posting that pdf & welcome to DU Disillusioned1!)
My guess is that they don't need anything as embarrasing as this to pop up, especially with the ICC beginning to gather evidence of British government complicity in war crimes.
What absolute scum.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1083527 British Government Orders E-Mail Purge
Edited on Sat Dec-18-04 06:47 PM by Tinoire
British Government Orders E-Mail Purge
From correspondents in London
18dec04
MILLIONS of e-mails to British government staff will be automatically wiped out on Monday, 11 days before freedom of information laws come into force, a newspaper reported Saturday.
The Cabinet Office, which supports Prime Minister Tony Blair and co-ordinates government policy, has ruled that e-mails more than three months old must be deleted from December 20, according to The Times.
(snip)
Although the deleted e-mails will be stored on back-up systems, these have been declared off limits to freedom of information requests because of the cost of accessing them, it added. The Conservative opposition party said Blair's Labour government was deliberately trying to destroy embarrassing information.
(snip)
The Cabinet Office insisted that the exercise was not related to the Freedom of Information Act but was "good records management practice," to stop files blocking the system.
(snip)
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11725496%5E1702,00.htmlUK 'war crimes' claims examined in The Hague
By Severin Carrell
19 December 2004
Claims that the UK has committed war crimes against Iraqi civilians are being examined by the International Criminal Court after complaints by a panel of legal experts.
In a letter seen by The Independent on Sunday, the chief prosecutor of the ICC in The Hague has described the
war crimes allegations as "one of the most significant" cases he has seen, and were being given "deserved weight" by his investigators.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the chief prosecutor, indicated that
his office has now begun the formal process of gathering evidence about the claims and is now expected to ask the Government to explain its military strategy in Iraq.(snip)
Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman, said the move would cause
"profound concern" for the Government. Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru MP and one of the most prominent critics of the war, added: "This is a highly significant development."
(snip)
The panel alleged that Britain had illegally used cluster bombs in civilian areas and illegally targeted power stations, depriving civilians and hospitals of water supplies and electricity. They also allege that British use of depleted uranium armour-piercing shells was negligent.
(snip)
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=594580