UK Eurocrats vote to legalise spam

It was five years ago today... Welcome indeed to a new El Reg feature - the snappily-titled It was five years ago today...

Well, it's less of a feature and more of a teary-eyed wander down memory lane. Each and every day we will bring you a choice and select cut from yesteryear so that we can all have a right good nostalge about how lovely it must have been to live in a gentler, more caring age. And in this case, an age before spam tsunamis threatened the very existence of humanity:

UK Eurocrats vote to legalise spam

By Tim Richardson
Published Wednesday 12th May 1999 17:15 GMT

Europe's decision to legitimise unsolicited email - spam - was swayed by the support of MEPs from the UK. Every single UK Conservative and UK Labour MEP - except one - voted in favour of the legitimisation of spam, according to The Register's very own gravy train spotter.

This is at odds with the belief that the UK is the home of fair-play and the arbiter of good judgement and level-headed politics. With such a ludicrous and potty law sailing through the European Parliament, it's more than ironic that such moves have been supported by politicians from the UK.

For it is the UK that has whinged the most about ludicrous Euro policy including food mountains, the common agricultural policy, the outlawing of Bombay Duck in Indian Restaurants, the rejection of curved bananas and the banning of fatty sausages. Now they want to legalise spam. Whatever next? ®

Whatever next indeed? Righteous indignation there from Tim Richardson, and with good reason. Blimey, if only we'd known then what we know now...