UK government to salvage blocked bill

UK government is set to salvage what it can from its electronic communications bill, which was blocked by the Tories last week.

Instead of publishing a completed bill as originally intended this month, it will publish a draft bill, which will not go through parliament. The document will outline the legislation that the government hopes to implement next year.

Also expected to be announced is the long awaited appointment of a so-called digital envoy for the UK, expected to be the Australian high commissioner Alex Allan.

A Conservative Party spokeswoman said the party believes the electronic communications bill is "bad" and not widely supported by industry. The bill, formerly called the electronic commerce bill, ran into widespread industry opposition over its insistence on key escrow, a costly and untested method of tapping emails.

Key escrow was dropped in April, leading to a softening of industry hostility.

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