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Government slaps preservation order on WP document

A Bristol office worker was shocked to discover that a document on her computer was the first in the UK to receive a preservation order under new Government guidelines. The order prevents her from making any further changes to the document without undergoing a lengthy appeal process in the courts.

Mother-of-two Megan Horncastle, 36, opened the Microsoft Word file planning to make final changes before printing it out. She discovered a substantial passage of new text had appeared at the top, saying that the document was sufficiently important to the nation that it must be retained in its present state for perpetuity at her own expense.

"I wouldn’t mind," Ms Horncastle commented, "but it’s only a letter to one of our suppliers placing an order for cotton thread. We make oven gloves and hats for the baking trade. I’m at a loss to see how anything we write is of importance to the nation."

Nevertheless, as the author of the document Ms Horncastle now faces a £5,000 fine and up to six months in prison if she allows so much as a comma to be altered, something which has angered experts.

"It makes a mockery of how we preserve this country's past," said Oxford social historian Dr Jonathan Mumply. "The system of preservation orders was introduced to maintain unique structures of national significance — mansions, follies, red telephone boxes and Barbara Windsor — not ephemeral electronic communications."

However, a spokeswoman from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "This is precisely the sort of whining nimbyism that is threatening to destroy our heritage. Everybody wants the past preserved but nobody wants to do anything about it. People have to realise that the business letter of today is the precious archaeological artefact of tomorrow." The Government insists it will press on with its £35-million-pound programme to preserve for posterity a wide range of letters, spreadsheets and Post-It Notes, and The Rockall Times understands that MI5&6 are currently trawling through millions of apparently dull emails in order to pick a selection for preservation.

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