Operation Cabin files

Martin Rosenbaum is the BBC's FOI correspondent and was also responsible for the Climategate Revisited programme last night. He has just emailed to say that he has published some of his research material for the show, including material obtained from Norfolk Constabulary's case files for the Climategate investigation.

Read it here.

Update on Nov 1, 2012 by Bishop Hill

This excerpt from a task list is interesting. I wonder who they are talking about?

Comments

[Breath of Fresh Air]

Another document shows that the police decided not to make a media appeal for information to assist the investigation during the Copenhagen climate summit (known as COP15), because "with COP15 still underway in Copenhagen raising awareness still further may have an negative impact on the conference".

So the release of information wrongly suppressed from FOIA requests would have in Plod's eyes a negative impact.

[Barry Woods]

Is Martin going to make all of the released information from the police available?

Inc, which websites, (besides taxpayers alliance ) looked at and why

[grumpydenier]

This is a worry.

"The disclosures also reveal how the police worked their way through certain websites on which Climategate had been discussed, printing off and filing away, for example, a list of staff at the Taxpayers' Alliance."

[redc]

There's hardly anything in this, it's mostly 1 page documents.

Thank goodness they found the About->Our Staff page of the Taxpayers Alliance.

[Jace]

Why were Norfolk police interested in the impact to COP15:

With COP15 still underway in Copenhagen raising awareness still further may have an negative impact upon the conference.

[Mique]

Jace, they probably thought COP15 was a new TV show to replace The Bill.

[Stuck-Record]

Why were Norfolk police interested in the impact to COP15:

Because they work for the British Govt. And COP15 was very important to their plans.

Foolish old sentimentalists like me, however, believe it is the job of the police to work for the British citizens, not their Govt. But what do I know?

[Hyperthermania]

Mique, sorry but COP15 was the Norfolk constabulary rugby team, they were disbanded when they messed up recruiting a new hooker !

[Jimmy Haigh]

Nov 1, 2012 at 12:48 PM | Mique

Good one!

[ZT]

Will the Norfolk police get a Nobel prize too?

[Skiphil]

Let's see, the police would hesitate to seek helpful information from the public because such a request could have interfered with govt messaging about climate at Copenhagen.....

Then there are various farcical "inquiries" in both UK and USA which are careful not to even investigate many relevant issues...... and now we have this dramatic news affecting Michael Mann's own university and state:

BREAKING: Penn State University's former President to be charged with perjury and obstruction of justice!!

The issue for understanding CRU/UEA, Mann, climate science, and so called “inquiries” is not the cover-ups of the Sandusky case per se but what can be understood about the leadership and administration of relevant universities and departments in recent years (not to mention other scientific and professional bodies, etc.). If ex-Pres. Spanier of Penn State would behave this way over the Sandusky case, how can anyone be confident he (and similar colleagues) were better in relation to inquiries pertaining to climate science, Michael Mann and Phil Jones, CRU and UEA, etc.

[Stuck-Record]

I'm sorry, but this quote from the BBC program tells you everything you need to know about the Police investigation.

Julian Gregory: We spoke to people who were connected with the Climate Research Unit but once we’d established that it was an attack from the outside then obviously that line of enquiry took on a lot less significance. So I can’t 100% say that it wasn’t an internal person or a whistle-blower or whatever you like to call it but all the indications were that it wasn’t.

Chris Vallance: Although, of course, an insider could decide to hack in from the outside perhaps in order to disguise their identity. But Gregory does see a possible link to the series of Freedom of Information requests sent to the CRU:

Unreal.

To paraphrase: It's definitely a hack. So we stopped looking for an insider. But it isn't definitely a hack.

???????

Julian Gregory: I’m hypothesising here: you know I can’t say for sure that the apparently orchestrated campaign of FOI requests is directly linked to the hack. But there is a potential link.

And he then to further muddy the waters and perpetuate a proven lie he links the 'hack' to the non-existent "...apparently orchestrated campaign of FOI requests".

Political or incompetent police? You decide.

[SteveW]

"Political or incompetent police? You decide."

Does it have to be one or the other?

[jamspid]

The same Norfolk Police that couldn't protect Tony Martin

[Messenger]

Gregory also suggested that the "hacker" deliberately laid a false trail to suggest to any investigator that the hack (or leak) had been perpetrated by someone else from inside who had access to the data.

Would a hacker be able to find out which people had access? My lack of hacking skills lead to a certain amount of ignorance of how it all works .

[Skiphil]

BREAKING: Penn State faculty member (ex-President) Graham Spanier is criminally charged:

Pennsylvania's Attorney General announces charges against Penn State professor and ex-President Graham Spanier

Ex-Penn State president charged in Sandusky case

Kevin Johnson and Doug Stanglin
USA TODAY

1:51PM EDT November 1. 2012 - Former Penn State president Graham Spanier and two other former administrators were charged Thursday with perjury, obstruction of justice, and endangering children in connection with their handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

Prosecutors said all three officials knew of complaints involving Sandusky, an assistant football coach, showering with boys in 1998 and 2001 and failed to take action to stop it.

"This is about three powerful and influential men, three men who used their positions at Penn State to cover-up and conceal the activities of (Sandusky),'' said Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly in announcing the charges....

.....

....Penn State spokesman David La Torre said Thursday that Spanier, who continued to serve as a tenured professor after he was fired as president in November, "will be placed on leave, effective immediately."

[Jean S]

Regarding your update: it is a name with 5-6 letters (depending on number of I's) in the first name and 7-8 in the last. By cutting and pasting letters, I had a nice fit with "STEVE MCINTYRE" into the first box and "MCINTYRE" to the second. I have absolutely no idea what the word(s) in the last box might be.

[Anthony Watts]

I think the name you are looking for is this one

http://www.uea.ac.uk/is/people/IT+&+Computing+Service/People/salmonm

Access and means, but that is just conjecture.

[Pharos]

In case it gets deleted, here is the text of my comment on Rosenbaum's blog-

Martin Rosenbaum's documentary is to be greatly welcomed for a long overdue attempt toward a frank and fair appraisal of Climategate. In fact, quite remarkable, from a corporation with a legendary and almost evangelical alarmist climate bias. Well worth replaying to catch the key statements of each interviewee.

[steveta]

In the questions for CRU staff, I didn't see one that asked "Did you leak the emails?".

Is that too subtle for plod?

[Don Keiller]

Julian Gregory became quite the "go-between" a certain security firm and UEA.
I hear he has now retired.
Does anyone else think this significant?

[TerryS]

Re: Don

> Does anyone else think this significant?

I don't.

Julian Gregory was a DCS (Detective Chief Superintendent) which ranks just below an Assistant Chief Constable. To achieve that rank he will have put in many years service. Since police retirement age is 30 years service or 55 and there is the possibility of reduced pensions in the future it isn't surprising he retired.

[joe]

Ex-Penn State president charged in Sandusky case
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/ex-penn-state-president-charged-in-sandusky-case-1.1397126

HARRISBURG — Former Penn State president Graham Spanier led a “conspiracy of silence” that allowed the university’s long-time defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky to continue abusing boys for more than a decade, the state attorney general’s office said.

Read the Grand Jury Presentment Here

The office charged Spanier, today with perjury, endangering the welfare of children, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.

If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum 39 years in prison.

===

Spanier also presided over the Climategate whitewashinvestigation that "exonerated" Mann of wrongdoing.

[Don Keiller]

@TerryS
I don't think that it is surprising that he retired (mind you I wish I could at 55).

Just me, in my usual twisted and cynical manner, thinking that his "helpfulness" to a security company,
in various UEA investigations, may not have been entirely selfless.

[Martin A]

In the questions for CRU staff, I didn't see one that asked "Did you leak the emails?".

Is that too subtle for plod?
Nov 2, 2012 at 9:10 AM steveta

They probably applied the same logic as they did when they were asked why they did not ask Steven Mosher - widely believed to have deduced the identity of FOIA - who he thought FOIA was. Plod's reply: "We did not ask him because he probably would not tell us".

[RHL]

Here is a link
to the Norfolk Constabulary FOIA letter to the BBC. It has a complete list of documents released to the BBC:

REQUIREMENTS TO BE CONTAINED WITHIN STATEMENTS
WWW.TAXPAYERSALLIANCE.COM ARTICLE 23/11/2009
MASTER QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INTERVIEWS WITH CRU STAFF
GOLD MEETING 1100HRS 11/01/2020 AGENDA
TAX PAYERS ALLIANCE MISSION STATEMENT AND STAFF LIST
UK.POLITICS.MISC WEBSITE REF DOE LITIGATION HOLD NOTICE
MASTER QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INTERVIEWS FOR FOI REQUESTS
INTERNET RESEARCH ON THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION GROUP
OP CABIN CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS
TALLBLOKE’S TALKSHOP
GOLD MEETING ACTIONS 25/11/2009
GOLD STRATEGY 25/11/2009
COPY EMAIL 1646 25/11/09 DEMANDS POLICE DETAILS OIC
GOLD MEETING MINUTES 1500 HRS 27/11/2009.
GOLD STRATEGY 08/12/2009 OP CABIN
GOLD MEETING MINUTES 09/12/2009
WWW.MEGAUPLOAD.COM DATA SHOWS FOI2009.ZIP CRU EMAIL 61.93MB
FORENSIC COMPUTER EXAMINATION NETWORK INVESTIGATION TO QINETIQ
MEDIA STRATEGY 18/12/2009
GOLD MEETINGS MINUTES 1030HRS 16/12/2009
GOLD MEETING 1400HRS 23/12/2009 ACTIONS
GOLD MINUTES 11/01/2010 1400
GOLD MEETING MINUTES 1000 HRS 01/02/2010
ACPO LETTER 16/02/2010
QINETIQ QUOTES FOR FORENSIC WORK 08/04/2010
FOI INFORMATION EMAIL 16/04/2010
QINETIQ EMAILS REF QUOTES FOR FORENSIC ELIMINATION
QINETIQ PROPERTY RECEIPT TASK NO 2517/10 UNDATED
REVIEW OF OP CABIN
COPY INVOICES FROM PEARL LINGUISTICS FOR TRANSLATION SERVICES
4 FOI REQUESTS MADE TO THE UEA 03/01/09 TO 30/10/09
PHISHING ATTACKS AT UEA INFORMATION DOCUMENT
UEA EMAILS AND DIAGNOSTIC FROM POWER MANAGEMENT

The letter states that all of these documents can be obtained by making another FOIA request.