Monday, September 04, 2006

British MP falls foul of wiki-d pranksters

David Miliband had hoped it would be a brave experiment in policy formation — an interactive website on which voters could make suggestions about the Government’s position on the environment.

Last night the Environment Secretary was forced to creep back into his cyberhole after his much-touted “environment contract” had been so defaced by contributors that staff were forced to take it down.

Mr Miliband, who writes his own blog, had put the draft document online in the hope that readers would add to the “starting-point” text.

The complex question of “what tools can be used to deliver the environmental contract?” met with the response: “Spade, Organic Yoghurt Stirrer, Old washing-up liquid bottle, Sticky Back Plastic.”

Among the edits that were more surrealistic than political, the heading “Who are the parties to the environmental contract?” became “Where is the party for the environmental contract? Can I come? Will there be cake? Hooray!”

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