Saturday, October 12, 2013 12:53 PM

Dear Mrs Mitchell
Local Government Ombudsman

Case ref: 13/007/192

I acknowledge and thank you for your letter dated 10th Oct 13 with your provisional decision i.e., “in light if the Ombudsman investigation, the Devon County Council have agreed to reconsider its decision not to correspond further with Mr X”

That’s jolly damn magnanimous of the Devon County Council (DCC), isn’t it?

However, it does not state if they are prepared to remove the lifetime email ban. In your fourth paragraph, it clearly states the email ban will be lifted next July. I don’t accept the email ban is lawful and that’s the first notification I have received about the ban being lifted next July.

The council claim also in para 4, my previous emails were “inappropriate and unacceptable” but they fail to give specific details, and it would appear you failed to ask for specific details.

I refute in the strongest manner your claims that the DCC actions have not caused me personal loss. The general public are (or should be) at liberty to correspond with public authorities as they see fit and my choice is via email because of the time, cost, efficiency, environmentally friendly etc. I fervently believe the DCC email ban is Draconian. I agree with you that is “unfair to set a permanent ban”; hence why has it taken the LGO five years to reach that view?

The DCC are breaching Article 10 of my human rights, but you have failed to identify that breach.

I don’t accept the DCC are treating this matter seriously as they say: “they will consider corresponding with me”

In essence, the DCC have placed me on a blacklist and are gagging me from my legal right to communicate with the local Government elected Officials.

I accept your actions are a step in the right direction, but I fervently do believe the LGO is failing their fiduciary duty of care by not laying down the law to the DCC management, whom are at best, living, in a Draconian period and, at worst, conspiring to pervert the course of justice and to circumvent the Local Government Act74 and the FOIA 200O.

I look forward to receiving a letter from the LGO stating:

1. The email ban is lifted with immediate affect

2. The communication gagging order has been lifted with immediate affect.

With thanks

Yours sincerely

Alan Dransfield