The UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit on Thursday charged
internet pioneer Cliff Stanford with conspiracy to blackmail and
unlawfully intercepting e-mails at his former company, Redbus
Interhouse, according to reports. Stanford resigned from the
company in 2002.
Cliff Stanford is a well-known figure in the internet industry.
He founded Demon Internet in 1992 and sold it in 1998 to Scottish
Telecom for £66 million (Scottish Telecom subsequently re-branded
as Thus), netting Stanford around £30 million.
In the same week as the sale, Stanford launched the Redbus Group
which later funded his launch of Redbus Interactive, a colocation
and data services company.
According to reports, allegations surfaced in October last year
that Stanford had been involved in hacking the e-mail system of
Redbus. He and another man, George Nelson Liddell, were questioned
by police over the interception of e-mails between Redbus' former
chairman John Porter, and Porter's mother, Dame Shirley Porter.
Both men have now been charged with blackmail and unlawful
interception of communications under the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) of 2000 and are due to appear at
Bow Street Magistrates Court on 2nd March.
