Royal Mail is considering legal action against a Midland man who sent a revenge e-mail, attacking a senior member of staff for allegedly having an affair with his wife, to managers at the company. The e-mail - which accused the employee of "performing sex acts... on Royal Mail premises" - was forwarded to the company's chief executive Adam Crozier and other key managers. It contained cross-references to a website where the staff member is named and said to have committed other offences including making "illicit sexual phone calls" while at work. Royal Mail said it was seeking advice about prosecuting the perpetrator of the e-mail and was investigating how he managed to get into company's system. The manager who is the subject of the e-mail is taking legal action against the sender. The case has re-ignited concern over the increasing mis-use of IT systems by individuals or organisations with an axe to grind. Andrew Sparrow, who runs Birmingham-based Internet law firm Lecote Solicitors, warned: "It is not the law that has changed but it is the technology that has made it easier to make a reckless statement that can cause commercial damage." A test case in 1997 saw insurance firm Norwich Union accused of circulating an e-mail to staff alleging that rival firm Western Provident Association (WPA) was insolvent and being investigated by the Department for Trade and Industry. Norwich Union admitted there was no truth in the rumour and was forced to pay a settlement to WPA of £450,000 plus costs. The case - the first of its kind in the UK - opened up a whole new area of e-mail-based libel action. "People commit things to e-mail that they would never dream of committing to a letter," said Mr Sparrow. "The industrial tribunals are littered with cases of people recklessly making comments in an e-mail that they would not normally make in another format." The fact that e-mails are perceived to be transient, more personal in nature and relatively "hidden" inside a computer, was blamed for engendering a false sense of security among individuals and organisations. Mr Sparrow warned that simply deleting an e-mail was not enough to get a perpetrator off the hook once accused of such a libel. They can be forensically retrieved and may come back to haunt you, he added. He said the Norwich Union case had determined liability for defamatory statements on e-mails. The Royal Mail case could fall into this category because it put in question the reputation of the company, said Mr Sparrow. In order for a libel to succeed, a prosecution needs to prove an e-mail contains a "malicious falsehood" damaging the reputation of an individual or organisation in the minds of others. A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We are currently looking into the matter with a view to taking further action as necessary. "Because the gentleman has mentioned his website on the e-mail it is something we will have to consider very carefully." Royal Mail said it had investigated the allegations made against its employee but was not pursuing those matters. "The allegations concern an event that happened a number of years ago," said the spokesman. "They were fully investigated by Royal Mail at the time and it was decided no further action was necessary." | 
