Islington Tribune - News: Fury at dog control email addresses blunder

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Islington Tribune - by ROSIN GADELRAB
Published: 2 May 2008

Fury at dog control email addresses blunder

RED-faced council officials were forced to send out a humble apology after accidentally disclosing hundreds of private email addresses to respondents of a dog control consultation.
The blunder has prompted privacy fears for residents who have called the error “sloppy” and “staggeringly incompetent”.
The mistake happened on Tuesday when a council official sent out a stock email to consultation respondents, but forgot to keep the mailing list confidential, meaning hundreds of recipients were able to see each other’s email addresses.
Swift action was taken and some emails were recalled, but the council has been forced to plead with recipients to respect the privacy of others and delete the extra information.
Jennifer Harrison, a business consultant from Drayton Park, who received the emails, said: “The council should know better. They have already been criticised for the way they have run the consultation. When I saw the addresses I thought it was sloppy.”
The mistake is the latest embarrassment in the much-criticised consultation on plans to fine dog owners for not cleaning up after their pets.
The consultation came under fire earlier this year for not being clear over plans to open up dog-free parks to pets.
A Town Hall spokeswoman said: “We would never usually circulate the email addresses of people responding to consultations.
“We’re very sorry to say that this is down to an administrative error on our part, and we want to apologise to all those affected.”
So far a record number of people – more than 1,700 – have responded to the consultation.
Street wardens are undergoing specialist training this week to help and advise dog owners on the new measures.

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