It appears that the enquiry at Flintshire was launched after offensive e-mails were discovered in the council's computer system. According to icNorthWales, the council's officers claim that images in the e-mails were of a "highly offensive sexual nature."
A spokesman for the employees' union cited in the report admitted that some of the images were "rude", but argued that most of the material was "insignificant" and could not fall into the category of pornography.
As part of the investigation, 47 council employees have been interviewed. The employees could face disciplinary proceedings, icNorthWales reports.
In December 2002, British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) dismissed 11 employees who worked at the Sellafield nuclear power station over "inappropriate use" of the company's e-mail system. Details about the contents of the e-mails were not disclosed.
According to media reports, BNFL staff characterised the action as excessive and denied that the e-mails were pornographic or breached confidentiality. BNFL, however, said that the employees were aware of the company's strict e-mail policy, especially after a similar incident in February 2001 when nine workers were suspended over e-mail abuse.
