More employees disciplined over Swire email

The notorious Claire Swire email claimed more victims Wednesday as employees of the Financial Services Authority face disciplinary action.

Unconfirmed reports claim nine employees of the FSA face temporary suspension for forwarding the email which details a sexual encounter between Swire and lawyer Bradley Chait. Several members of his law firm have been disciplined for distributing the mail and Swire is believed to be in hiding. The email has now been read by ten million people across the globe.

A spokesman for the FSA confirmed the organisation received the mail. "We got it like everyone else in the City," he says. While he wouldn't confirm what action will be taken over those employees who sent the mail on, he admits forwarding the note would be a breach of policy.

"We've got an email policy which states that employees do not distribute offensive material. When we became aware of this email we sent out a message warning people it would be a breach to forward it and telling them to delete it," he says.

Some legal experts have suggested firms are over-reacting but the FSA spokesman believes it is acting correctly. "How would you react if I said our employees were allowed to make obscene phone calls? Sending offensive email is just the same," he says. He admits he has not seen the mail. "I must be one of the few people in the country not to have seen it," he says.

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