[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[FYI] (Fwd) London: Panik 31.12.1999



------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Mon, 28 Dec 1998 08:08:08 -0500
To:            politech@vorlon.mit.edu
From:          Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:       FC: British Home Scretary on Y2K alert; will Tube stay open?
Reply-to:      declan@well.com

[I am back (or almost back) from a holiday vacation and so is politech.
--Declan]

>Reply-To: <freenet@globalnet.co.uk>
>From: "Alan Docherty" <freenet@globalnet.co.uk>
>To: "Declan McCullagh" <declan@well.com>
>Subject: British Home Scretary on Alert for Y2K
>Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 12:09:13 -0000
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 8.5, Build 4.71.2232.26
>Importance: Normal
>
>Declan,
>
>>From today's The Times, one of the few survivors from Tony Blairs cabinet
>has been put on alert for Y2K in case of a domestic crisis.
>
>
>December 28 1998  BRITAIN
>
>
>Straw 'on alert' for millennium
>
>BY VALERIE ELLIOTT, WHITEHALL EDITOR
>
>JACK STRAW has been told that, as Home Secretary, he must stay in London
>during next year's millennium celebrations in case of a serious breakdown in
>public order or a national emergency.
>Officials have given him a warning that prolonged festivities and possible
>problems connected with the millennium computer bug could trigger a domestic
>crisis.
>
>It has been agreed by the Cabinet that it will be Mr Straw's job to ensure
>the safety of citizens and, in the event of disruption to vital services, he
>will activate the Cabinet Office's crisis control centre.
>
>The Civil Contingency Committee - known in Whitehall as the "Triple C" and
>chaired by Mr Straw - would monitor any problems, and decide on the callout
>of troops and their movements as well as distribution of a central supply.
[...]
>Chief constables are also shortly to decide whether all police leave should
>be cancelled for the period. Emergency planning officers will be on standby
>and have set in place a network of duty workers.
>
>The moves by senior government officials are to ensure that millennium
>festivities are trouble-free. Officials have sought a commitment from local
>authorities that they have adequate plans to evacuate, transport, shelter,
>feed and treat people in any eventuality.
>
>Senior Home Office officials have been testing emergency systems for more
>than a year to ensure they will not be affected by the date change to 2000.
>
>
>http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/frontpage.html?2294202
>
>One strategy being proposed in London is that we all stay at home to avoid
>any disruption:
>
>In brief: Police call for Tube shutdown
>
>Police have called on London Transport to shut the entire Tube network on
>the millennium New Year^Os Eve amid fears of dangerous overcrowding.
>
>Although the government is keen for the Tube network to stay open, senior
>police officers are afraid that staff absenteeism, combined with signal
>failures caused by the millennium bug, will lead to chaos, with central
>London becoming overcongested.
>
>http://webserv.vnu.co.uk/www_user/plsql/pkg_vnu_msn.homepage?p_story=69386
>

 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology
To subscribe: send a message to majordomo@vorlon.mit.edu with this text:
subscribe politech
More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------