Hewitt on the ropes in the House of Commons

Hewitt on the ropes

I have just had an email from a BBC television producer. He says:

Patricia Hewitt is speaking in the House of commons right now - apparently the MTAS security breach was Channel 4 News' fault because they left 2 hours between finding out about it and contact the DoH perss office.

She also just said 'there is no eveidence that memebrs of the public, or any other authorised people, other than ITN/Channel 4 News accessed the data',. This got enormous laughs and cries of 'yer what? Yer what? Yer what yer what yer what?' from the opposition benches.

Just thought you might like to know.

Let us not mince words. Hewitt is being...terminologically inexact.

The sequence of events, with the second security breach, was as follows:

1. NHS BLOG DOCTOR was tipped off about it early that afternoon. At 14.10 on Thursday 26th April**, I published an article entitled “MTAS - would someone tell me this is not true." Within an hour I had proof positive that the breach existed.
   
   
2. I telephoned Victoria Macdonald of Channel 4 news and gave her the story.
   
   
3. I considered that, journalist scoop though this was, the security breach was appalling, and threatened the confidentially of doctors’ private job applications. I therefore telephoned the Department of Health and was finally put through to Mike Clement, the MTAS project manager. I notified him of the problem.
   
   
4. I backed this phone call up with an email sent to Mike Clement at 15.59 on the same day.
   
   
5. The MTAS site was taken down (by Mike Clement I assume) within a few minutes.
   
   
6. At 18.08 I had this final exchange of emails with Mike Clement
   

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike.Clement@dh.gsi.gov.uk [mailto:Mike.Clement@dh.gsi.gov.uk]
Sent: 26 April 2007 18:05 To: Dr John Crippen Subject: Re: FW: ? another MTAS leak

Dr Crippen

Thank you for alerting me to this issue.

Regards

Mike Clement
MTAS project manager.
Tel 020 7633 7020

Workforce Directorate
Working differently

__________

Mike

That's OK

I see the site is now down for "essential repairs"

I think it is all outrageous, but having been tipped off about this, whilst I have written it up, it seemed right and proper to make sure it was stopped ASAP

It is still outrageous though!



John

Hewitt is being both dishonest and disreputable.

• I am not a junior hospital doctor.
  
• I am not registered with MTAS.
  
• In this context I am a member of the general public. I was able to access details of applications on the MTAS site, and did so.
  
• Many others did so too.

The security of the MTAS site was appalling. Victoria Macdonald is a highly respected Channel 4 journalist and the attempt somehow to blame her, or Channel 4, for the MTAS problems is disgraceful.

This now goes beyond political rough and tumble. Hewitt has lied to the House of Commons.

Time she resigned.

_________________

** The first post of this article stated, incorrectly, that my article was published on Wednesday 25th April. It was in fact first published on Thursday 26th April and drew attention to the second huge security breach of MTAS. The first security breach story was reported on Wednesday 25 April by Victoria MacDonald of Channel 4

Apologies for any confusion.