Prime Minister's email takes month off

British citizens wishing to write to Prime Minister Gordon Brown via email are currently being told that the service is down due to maintenance work.

Number 10’s website is currently carrying this message about Brown’s inability to receive emails from pen-shy members of the public:

This service has been temporarily suspended for maintenance work. Don't worry, we are still accepting faxes and letters, and you can still let us know your opinions via an epetition or on our new Twitter service.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We hope to be back up and running in a few days.

Helpfully, a Downing Street spokesman told The Register that service will be resumed early next week, which is good seeing as it’s been out of action since 23 June.

Mind you, getting a response from Gordy might prove a little difficult, seeing as by then our PM will be knee-deep in Blighty waters.

Next week Brown will pack his bucket and spade, roll up his trousers and head for the probably not-very-sunny climes of Southwold in Suffolk where he will be taking his family ollibobs while the House of Commons is in recess.

We asked the No.10 spokesman if he could explain why no one has been able to contact the Prime Minister via its email service for the best part of a month.

He told us that a clear explanation was already provided on the Downing Street website and that it was unnecessary to elaborate further.

He was also amused when we reasonably pondered that Brown might have a lot of emails to wade through when he does return from his seaside sojourns.

“It’s simply down for maintenance work and will be available early next week,” said the spokesman.

The Labour government finally issued an email address for then Prime Minister Tony Blair in the summer of 2003 after repeated calls for No. 10 to follow in the footsteps of other world leaders who had already embraced the, er, internet revolution.

Since then, Downing Street has become something of a Web 2.0 whore with its own YouTube, Flickr and Twitter accounts. ®

Bootnote

A pint of reassuringly flat, warm ale goes to The Happy Space Invader who told El Reg that the PM's email service was down.