PMOS Wrong, Guido Knows
Yesterday morning the Lobby asked the PMOS about Downing Street's email systems, the official Lobby note says:
Asked if there were a separate e-mail address such as some using the letter X and some not, the PMOS said no. Asked if people had 'Hotmail' accounts at Downing Street, the PMOS said because of security access to such e-mails accounts was not allowed. The police had had full access to everything they wanted. The fallacy was that in someway Downing Street had not cooperated with the police, that was not true.
On both the X-prefix point and the Hotmail question, Guido has direct experience of email exchanges with Downing Street people using "x.gsi.gov.uk" mail accounts and using Hotmail to, errm, well... lets just say Guido knows they use them. So perhaps the PMOS can check again and make a correction on Monday. Emails will be to the Blairgate cover-up, what tapes were to the Watergate cover-up.
27 comments:
Does that explain why Tony is chumming up to Bill Gates in Davos - so Bill can delete his emails for him.
Surely some kind of a mistake. Maybe there was a misunderstanding as to whether the emails were actually TYPED inside Downing St.
As those concerned will be at their various churches and synagogues and S&M clubs we won't here for a while I guess.
Guido, blairs fucked, why not have a closer look at the frankly incredible claim by the rocking horse kid, that he didn't know where the election funding came from.
Comment from 'senior minister' yesterday was that Blair will be gone before this comes to court "so it won't matter". I'm not so sure - I think it'll hit Labour hard.
The email story is the police have copies of emails which haven't been provided as evidence, so Yates knows something is going on. There's even speculation he could turn up at no. 10 with a warrant. Oh how beautiful that would be.
"Comment from 'senior minister' yesterday was that Blair will be gone before this comes to court "so it won't matter". I'm not so sure - I think it'll hit Labour hard."
Labour think that Blair's departure means that the pblic won't care about this!!! WTF. Replaced by dodgemiester Brown and they think all will be forgiven!!
The BBC will promote that Labour bullshit spin, with the viewers, no doubt. As will Labour's other toadies in broadcasting.
But scandal of this magnitude, at this level, cannot be brushed away because Balir goes, and is replaced, by the other major architect of NuLab, Gordo!
Not to mention, all the other shit going on in this country at the moment.
I don't want emails from people like Hazel Bleary, Ruth Kelly and Buggins Brown. Please don't given them my email address.
Whatever evidence is desired isn't likely to be in Downing Street, IMO. Going there will possibly lead to the evidence, however.
The evidence is going to be a central email server or the backup tape thereof.
If I personally were Mr. Yates, I'd use two approaches:
1. go after backup tapes of any known email systems. Backup tapes are the easiest way to get around computer permissions.
Speed is of the essence. Backup tapes are only kept for a certain length of time. And this enquiry could certainly turn on tapes. Believe it.
2. seize and clone the home and work PCs of Mssrs Mctiernan and Power, and Ms Turner. The purpose of this is track down which email systems these people have used.
Guido, this is dynamite
how many journos read this?
Well get your pens out, guy, and follow the trail
This is corruption of the highest level,
Our Values and Country are at stake
Your Country Needs You!!!
pssst, and don't forget Backwoodmans big clue, do you really believe the Rocky Horse Kid did not wonder where all the money came from ?
Do me a favour!
Wonder if Yates has talked to:
http://www.sapphire.net/about/people.html
They were the systems integrators. They do forensics too. How useful.
Oh ! Ambassador Fawkes ! You are spoiling us with these revelations !!
I seem to remember Blair launching his 2001 Election business manifesto at Microsoft headquarters in front of the world's media....on the day Gates was launching his windows xp! Even at the time it seemed like a big favour to do the world's richest man, but now maybe Gates can return a favour?
Who is the PMOS these days ? Tom Kelly ?
Or is it David someone or other ?
In fairness anyone working in a central civil service department like the Cabinet Office or Treasury have an 'x' in their e-mail account. It's not a seperate system in any way - just means you can circulate and receive official papers.
A quick rummage does prove that there are indeed email addresses with and without the '.x.', e.g. a search for govtalk@cabinet-office shows these up. (giving benefit of doubt) The PMOS must have misunderstood the question as being about blair@ and blairx@.
I think that the '.x.' is supposed to be added to any address that appears on an official website - to differentiate between internal and external origination and act as a kind of spam 'pre-tagging' since both go to the same mail servers.
Obviously using a non-authorised email service for government business is completely sackworthy, regardless of the content of the emails themselves. So fire them all anyway.
I hope that Yates has the sense to ask where the backup tapes are.
Who is the PMOS these days ? Tom Kelly ?
Yes, still Tom 'Walter Mitty character' Kelly. As the PM was talking to the press at Davos about the prison crisis, Kelly could be seen in the background, staring at Blair and nodding decisively when his master hit his talking points.
Guido, sorry but you can't access hotmail from most computers on the x network (i used to have one). You can sometimes get special dispensation to access certain sites, which can include hotmail. If I were you i would investigate those who have been given access to those certain sites. Pehaps an FOI request?
As you probably know, the x.gsi.gov.uk address is the more secure version of the Government Secure Internet. People like the Cabinet Office have x.gsi.gov.uk addresses - as do (so I've been told) the various arms concerned with security. The idea that Downing Street doesn't have them is therefore laughable.
the archive tapes are the key, not the backups. Backup tapes are quickly reused but they will have almost certainly have been archived at 1/2/3/6/12/18/24/36 months etc.
Yates needs to ask for a copy of the IT security policy.
The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman is probably correct, the inner circle of appartchiki at No. 10 Downing Street do use x.gsi.gov.uk email addresses (See the Evidence to the Hutton Inquiry for examples).
X.GSI is meant to be ok to send Protectively Marked documents up to the medium security classification of Confidential to other x.gsi.gov.uk users, but there are logfiles etc. which would leave an evidence trail.
Just because the use of Hotmail etc. is against the rules, there is no reason why No, 10 Downing Street insiders could not send each other emails or instant messages via their private internet connections, bypassing the GSI infrastructure or via their mobile phones, or by simply ordering the IT support staff to let their computers access Hotmail etc. through the firewalls.
This might be against the IT security policy, and common sense, but if they were breaking the law, or were deluding themselves that they were working for the greater good, then that would not have stopped them.
See: "Guido Fawkes speculation on X.GSI emails at No.10 Downing Street"
> Asked if there were a separate e-mail
> address such as some using the letter
> X and some not, the PMOS said no
this would be true. Downing Street, Cabinet Office and other departments have x.gsi only, while other departments have .gsi only. So within No 10 they would only be using 'x' addresses. However, as other commentators have said, that doesn't stop people using other computers/internet access to send/receive emails.
Sites such as hotmail.com are automatically blocked by the technical bods and so it's unlikely that those with x.gsi accounts can access hotmail from their work terminals. Again, though, they could use other computers/internet access.
You'll be pleased to know that whilst hotmail can't be legitimately accessed at these x.gsi addresses, Guido can still be read.
I wonder what the Sunday papers will be making of all these developments ?
Does this mean the address tomkellypmos@hotmail.co.uk is still free then?
Is the alt6ernative meaning of PKOS "Post-Ministerial Oblivion Syndrome"?
Blunkett certainly suffers from it and Bliar surely will...
Hmmm,
An SSL certificate that expired in April 2003. Issued by "butcher.farmjack.com". WTF?
Haven't had a good look but if they haven't updated that in over 3 years, bets there are lots of other ways in.
S-E
Did you ever get your lobby pass, or are you passing over that subject out of embarrassment? LOL.
I've worked in an organisation with an 'x.gsi' level network.
Separate internet terminals are provided for staff, who are also furnished with personalised logons to use them - presumably this makes their use of these terminals traceable by the network administrators...
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