Tuesday 2 August 2011

IT firm deleted News of the World emails nine times

The India-based enterprise said the requests included wiping more than 200,000 delivery failure messages, pruning old emails from the archives to stop the system crashing, and deleting duplicate emails after users were moved on to new software.
In a written response to MPs, HCL said such requests were ‘not at all unusual or untoward’.
It did not store any emails or other data for NI but confirmed it managed the company’s computer systems.
HCL’s lawyer, Stuart Benson, wrote: ‘It is of course a matter entirely for NI, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose.’


Keith Vaz, chair of the committee of MPs, said he was 'surprised' by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details.
The revelation comes just a few weeks after police investigating the phone hacking scandal reportedly uncovered evidence that a company executive may have erased millions of email exchanges from an archive dating back to January 2005.
The evidence was said to have 'high value' to officers probing the scandal.
While some critics have suggested it could have been a deliberate attempt to obstruct the investigation, News International insist they have a good relationship with the police.
NI, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp group, closed down the News of the World paper in response to the hacking scandal.

 

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