Lord Robertson last week filed a lawsuit in Edinburgh's Court of Session, arguing that the comments were "false and calumnious" and could harm his chances of securing work when he steps down from his NATO post later this year.
The message board has been taken off-line "to address some unforseen technical issues and test site upgrades," according to the web site. Previously, it carried the following message to users:
"Please remember that this forum is intended for intelligent debate. Excessive personal attacks on other users are not welcome, nor are volleys of expletives or thinly-disguised commercial promotions.
"Although this is an open forum where all opinions are welcome, we reserve the right to remove any posts that are either overly offensive or liable to place the newspaper, as board publisher, at risk of legal sanctions."
According to reports, the message appeared on the paper's web site for up to three weeks until the 57-year-old former MP for Hamilton South brought it to the attention of Sunday Herald editor Andrew Jaspan.
According to a statement by the newspaper:
"Lord Robertson brought this post to the attention of Andrew Jaspan, the Sunday Herald's editor. The Sunday Herald then acted expeditiously to remove the information. The electronic record of the forums reveals that visitors viewed this post less than 400 times. The actual number of visitors who read the post is likely to be less as this number includes those who visited the forum before the post was made."
David McIlwaine, an IT litigation specialist with Masons, the firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, commented:
"If a web site makes clear that it does not monitor its message board, it is generally not responsible for what is posted there. However, if it fails to act quickly when a problem posting is brought to its attention, it risks becoming liable for defamation. These will be key questions in determining this case."
