Bank of Ireland and HP fight over porn bill

In a hole and still digging...

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Director, 22nd November 2004 09:34 GMT

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HP and the Bank of Ireland are arguing over who should pick up the bill for the departure of Michael Soden - the porn-surfing chief executive who quit in June.

The Bank of Ireland boss was forced to resign after it emerged he'd been surfing for porn at work. The material was not illegal but was in breach of the company's computer use policy. The bank's IT supplier, HP, is being blamed for that information becoming public.

The bank and HP are now arguing over who should pay Soden's severance package. He was halfway through a £5m contract, according to the Evening Standard.

It was alleged at the time that Soden may have been targeted by IT staff unhappy that their jobs had been outsourced to HP. Soden was responsible for the outsourcing deal, which saw most of the bank's IT staff move across to the printer giant. Soden's dubious bookmarks came to light during routine maintenance of his PC.

He was accused of accessing mucky pictures and the website of a Las Vegas escort agency. He said at the time it was a case of "curiosity killed the cat".

In apparently separate news Michael Losey, the HP executive responsible for the Bank of Ireland account, has left Ireland to return to Canada. HP said there was no connection between his departure and events at the bank. ®