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Innovation

Rupert Goodwins' Diary

Monday 9/06/2003We hang out with some posh people, you know. Just the other day, a member of the team -- name withheld for reasons that will become apparent -- was having a quiet, gossipy pint with a senior bod from a large company with considerable interests in government IT and communications issues.
Written by Rupert Goodwins, Contributor
Monday 9/06/2003
We hang out with some posh people, you know. Just the other day, a member of the team -- name withheld for reasons that will become apparent -- was having a quiet, gossipy pint with a senior bod from a large company with considerable interests in government IT and communications issues. Said bod had recently been invited to 10 Downing Street to talk to none other than Mr T about -- well, that would be telling. As you can imagine, security is pretty darn tight thereabouts. You certainly can't take your mobile phone in with you, because heaven only knows what sort of things might be hidden inside (*). Instead, the nice man at the front desk temporarily confiscates the phone, writes your name on a Post-It note he slaps on your mobile before adding it to the pile in front of him. Which means, as senior mystery chap says, you can see at a glance who's in the building, just by reading the Post-It notes. And if you can manage to swap some of the notes over, a task he thought would be trivial to do undetected, you can waltz off with the phone -- and stored numbers -- of the VIP of your choice. Yep, security's high at Downing Street these days. (*) Mobile phones make pretty good bugs. Switch a phone to silent mode, plug in a hands-free kit and then enable auto-answer. Stick the whole lot under the boardroom table with blu-tack. When the Big Boss goes in with his Big Boss Minions and shuts the door, ring the phone from your desk and listen away. Retrieve later, when safe. James Bond? Hah!
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