“Imagine the government's response if there were an incredible number of people (sorry, better make that 'voters') being harassed with anonymous telephone calls offering services of a sexual nature. Just picture how fast they would take action if there were a sudden prevalence of mail scams.

Sound bites would almost definitely include the words 'disgraceful', 'appalling' and 'immediate action', but with Spam, the reaction is a resounding 'sorry, it's your problem'. Yes, the British Government has finally taken an official stand on Spam, demanding that, erm, we look after it ourselves.

I can't say that I'm surprised, really. Blair himself confesses to being completely ignorant about the web, and E-Envoy Alex Allan's main qualifications seem restricted to being a 'computer consultant' (in the early 80's) and building an entire site - http://www.whitegum.com/ - all by himself.

Of course Alex has called it a day now, and will stand down from his position in October so he can return to Australia.

If this keeps up, I may do the same myself.

PS - The search for a new E-Envoy begins in a couple of weeks. Feel free to nominate (ahem) worthy parties for this cushy position at: e-envoy@open.gov.uk”

...says Tim Ireland, our Rant Envoy, and Director of Marketing at www.designercity.com