Compliance Toolkit

Email blunder leaves councillor in tight spot

Matt Loney ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 08 Aug 2003 10:40 BST

A Conservative councillor resigned from the party on Thursday after emails that he sent containing photographs of him wearing a suspender belt, tights, and no underwear were forwarded to his colleagues.

The emails, in which councillor Phil Grayson described his sexual fantasies, were forwarded to every member of Bracknell Forest Borough Council by the recipient, who had claimed to be a 23-year-old woman looking for an older man, according to the Metro newspaper. Grayson has called the episode a deliberate attempt to discredit him, and police are investigating whether the councillor is a victim of a set-up. The Labour opposition is calling for his resignation from the council.

The Bracknell email faux pas is the latest in a string of email incidents that have affected -- and in some cases damaged -- careers. Last October a city banker was suspended from work after an email he wrote describing his sexual exploits was forwarded around the world. Trevor Luxton had emailed a description of how a friend's ex-girlfriend had performed a sex act on him the night before to five friends, one of whom felt the need to pass it on. As others forwarded the email Luxton became something of a celebrity.

Two years earlier a City lawyer faced disciplinary action after an email describing his girlfriend's sexual tastes achieved worldwide fame as people forwarded it on.