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Drug 'Hoax' Shuts Assembly Emails Geoffrey Gibbs Guardian, The (UK) Sunday 04 Jun 2000 Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Author: Geoffrey Gibbs DRUG 'HOAX' SHUTS ASSEMBLY EMAILS Drugs In Britain: Special Report Embarrassed officials have been forced to shut the electronic bulletin boards in the national assembly for Wales after a junior employee advertised cannabis for sale. The unnamed clerical support worker, who is understood to have worked in the assembly's health division, was asked to leave the Cardiff Bay building after posting what he claims was a hoax email message on the internal computer system last week. The message used cockney rhyming slang to suggest a small quantity of the drug was for sale. The man, who was on his last day of work in the assembly, was interviewed by senior staff before being shown the door. A spokeswoman said an investigation was being held to determine whether or not the message was a hoax. She added: "To our knowledge no drugs were sold." But the matter had been referred to the police. The email was placed on the bulletin board on the assembly's intranet system where members customarily use the small ads space to advertise more prosaic needs. Internal rules stress that the sale and wanted boards are strictly for personal items and that adverts of a commercial nature are not allowed. Although the precise nature of what is permissible is unclear, staff are warned that when it comes to "profitable hobbies" the best test might be whether the taxman would consider the income negligible. Yesterday, both boards had been suspended. It is not the first time the assembly's computer system has been the cause of embarrassment. On one occasion a schoolboy visiting the building sent a threatening message to a friend from the assembly's debating chamber. Unfortunately the email was also picked up by an assembly member. More recently an official sending an aide memoire to his own home computer accidentally emailed confidential documents to journalists suggesting the beef on the bone ban could be reintroduced.
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