it’s not every day a press officer is prevented from sending out one of his own press releases. And it will come as no surprise to council employees everywhere that the culprit was our old friend - new technology.
Hugh Dougherty, East Renfrewshire Council’s press supremo, found his employer’s Minesweeper email protection system was blocking press releases with the phrase “the three ‘R’s” because it sounded like “arse.”
He wanted to publicise a drive by the council to help adult learners with their reading, writing and arithmetic, but he was told: “Network Support will not consider releasing any message of Undetermined Type because such messages cannot be checked and passed as safe and therefore pose a risk to the integrity of the council’s network.”
A case of not knowing their three R’s from their elbow.
