"Murder in Samarkand" and backstabbing in Whitehall - Craig Murray breaches Copyright Act !!!! (alleged)

Craig Murray's book "Murder in Samarkand" is printed and will be reviewed next week. He publishes here http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/documents/docs.html
the 15 Documents that support a great deal of what he says in the book.

Document 1 - FCO Comment
Document 2 - IMF Telegram
Document 3 - Declaration
Document 4 - Speech
Document 5 - Hill Negotiation
Document 6 - Michael Wood memo of 13 March
Document 7 - Telegram of 18 March 2003 headed US Foreign Policy
Document 8 - Letter from Simon Butt dated 16 April 2003
Document 9 - Exchange of emails with Linda Duffield
Document 10 - Colin Reynolds' report of 26 June 2003
Document 11 - Minute of my meeting with Howard Drake
Document 12 - Letter from British Businessmen in Tashkent
Document 13 - Email to Kate Smith
Document 14 - Minute of 26 September 2003
Document 15 - Telegram

These are all .pdf documents and can be downloaded, read and saved.

Margaret Becket has hardly got her bony knees under the elaborately carved and veneered desk at the Foreign Office and on the first anniversary of the greatest mass murder ever in UK history has started her campaign to suppress dissent.using the Terrist Laws 2000 ? Public Order Avts ? Serious and Organsised Crime etc ., NO the Copyright Act 1988. WOW. Mandamus Sacndalatus as the be-wigged men in pin stripes would have it.

Craig has today (Friday afternoon 7th July received a letter from the Treasury Solicitor) and has been told to remove these documents from his website. The letter can be seen here which was delivered by e-mail and courier to both himslef and his publishers, Mainstream in Edinburgh. (pdf of the letter here which can be downloaded, read and saved.) There are also 3 photos of the letter which can be seen at Flickr here.

The puzzling thing is that Mr Buttrill, efficient, no doubt and obedient public servant , says they do not seek to use the Official Secrets Act but claim..
Section 153(1) of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 covers their demands that "as the (documents) were produced by a servant of the Crown in the course of their Duties."

This monstrous nonsense (of which Buttrill cannot be proud) continues that ..."even if the Document is released under the Data protection Act or Freedom of Information Act .. does not entitle you to make further reproduction ...etc"

So dear reader, if you go to Carig's website and download copies , be warned you might be breaching the Copyright Act. (Oh My God) The same presumably applies say, if you (as many do) show reproductions of Government pamphlets, legal statutes, nay even press releases, transcripts of the Prime Minister's words on the No 10 Website, etc., as they have ... " been were produced by a servant of the Crown in the course of their Duties." .. unless of course you have asked for an obtained prior written approval for their use.

You could of course write to the polite, efficient and obedient Offical Solicitor and ask to reproduce Craig's files. He can be contacted at Gareth Buttrill, Treasury Solicitor, Floor 10.03, One Kemble Street , London WC2B 4TS Tel: 020 7210 3393 .. unless that is Copyright under the Act ?

Here is the Epic Craig Murray / Buttrill correspondence as it stands at 5.35 BST today.

Dear Mr Murray

The Treasury Solicitor acts for the Foreign Secretary in respect of the above matter which relates to the placing by you of a number of Crown documents on your website on 4 July 2006.

I attach a letter before claim, which is being delivered to you personally by courier this afternoon. A response from you is required by 4pm on Monday 10 July 2006.

Yours sincerely
Gareth Buttrill Treasury Solicitor Floor 10.03, One Kemble Street London WC2B 4TS
Tel: 020 7210 3393 Fax: 020 7210 3410

From: craig
To: Gareth Buttrill
Sent: Friday, July 0
Ga7, 2006 2:56 PM
Subject: Re: Infringement of Crown Copyright: letter before claim


Mr Buttrill,

As no court has ruled on anything, I would like to know by what power you, acting for the government, can tell me what I "must" do in this respect. I am putting that question formally to you as a government servant and it is not rhetorical; I require an answer.

I find the increasing authoritatianism of government in this country deeply disturbing. I will consider carefully your points once I can get proper legal advice, and not before. It should not take too long.

I am now late for collecting my duaghter.

Sent: Friday, July 07, 2006 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: Infringement of Crown Copyright: letter before claim


Mr Murray

I have asked my clients for instructions. However, you must proceed on the basis that the deadline set out in my letter stands.

Gareth Buttrill


Gareth,

Many thanks for your letter of 7 July.

I am of course in agreement with your advice that I must take legal advice. Your letter has arrived on a Friday afternoon when I am just off to collect my daughter from boarding school in Ramsgate. It is in practice impossible for me to get advice and reply before 4pm on Monday 10 July. I would ask you to give a more practical deadline - if you will not, I am sure that is somethig a talk would take into consideration in considering where costs lie. I am not sure what precedents there are for government action for copyright over documents posted on the website, so it might tke a day or two to know if you are right. If I am advised you are right, of course I will remove the documents as requested. On that basis, perhaps you could be kind enough to give me a few more days.

Craig

So that is where it is. Take some advice. don't goto http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/documents/docs.html and download those Copyright Documents, unless of course you have received prior written approval. Don't even look at them, don't e-mail them to someone overseas who might archive them away from HMG access or even publish them in print or on the web.

Many Angry Gerbils and Politics in the Zeros and Dahrjamail (zipped or Torrent stream) have a facility whereby it is claimed you can download the documents in question, again .. don't even look at them, don't e-mail them to someone overseas who might archive them away from HMG.
access or even publish them in print or on the web.

Simply assume that any downloads will be detected and recorded.