cc: "Preece Alan Mr (MAC)" <A.Preece@uea.ac.uk>,  "Palmer Dave Mr (LIB)" <David.Palmer@uea.ac.uk>, "Mcgarvie Michael Mr (ACAD)" <M.Mcgarvie@uea.ac.uk>
date: Wed Aug  5 10:26:43 2009
from: Phil Jones <p.jones@uea.ac.uk>
subject: RE: just a thought 
to: "Colam-French Jonathan Mr (ISD)" <J.Colam@uea.ac.uk>, "Ogden Annie Ms (MAC)" <k319@uea.ac.uk>

   Jonathan,
       Here's the link. Also one to show you more about Christopher Booker.
   [1]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/5955955/Weather-records-
   are-a-state-secret.html
   [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Booker
    Making the data available involves writing to a lot more people than just
    the Met Office. We can start this soon, but we need to give the Met Services
    time to reply. We're also working on a newer version with more data in it,
    so would be best if this version got released and not the current one.
    Cheers
    Phil
   At 08:25 05/08/2009, Colam-French Jonathan Mr (ISD) wrote:

     Dear Annie,

     I must admit I had not really appreciated the point that CRU / The Met Office plan to
     make the full data available next year and agree with your assessment that it would make
     sense to try and bring this forward if at all possible and avoid the publicity.

     I am not certain what this would involve, is it as simple as writing to the Met Office
     and requesting permission?  It would be useful to know if there are any other reasons
     why the release of the data could not be brought forward.

     Incidentally, I missed the piece in the Telegraph, is there a link you could post?

     With regards,
     Jonathan


     _____________________________________________
     From:    Ogden Annie Ms (MAC)
     Sent:   Tuesday, August 04, 2009 4:37 PM
     To:     Palmer Dave Mr (LIB); Jones Philip Prof (ENV); Mcgarvie Michael Mr (ACAD);
     Colam-French Jonathan Mr (ISD)
     Cc:     Preece Alan Mr (MAC)
     Subject:        just a thought

     Dear all,
     I spoke to the Met Office press office yesterday about whether to respond to a piece in
     the Telegraph. As I have since discussed with Phil,  we were both of the same opinion -
     that it was better to let it lie.

     As previously discussed, if we are actually contacted by the press for a comment, our
     line would be based on the text now on the CRU website (see below).

     Just a thought - if we are hoping to get permission from met services so the raw data
     can be published in 2010, can we not just expedite this and avoid a lot of unwanted
     negative publicity?
     Best, Annie


     The Climatic Research Unit has made available full gridded datasets of surface
     temperature data and averages since 1982 (on its website since the late 1990s). These
     datasets have been compiled from data acquired from weather stations around the world,
     courtesy of Meteorological agencies such as the UK's own Met Office.

     Some of these organisations give us this information on the understanding that it is
     used solely for the compilation of our gridded datasets and may only be used with the
     full permission of the relevant agency.

     We receive numerous requests for the raw data provided to us. The data are not ours to
     pass on without the full permission of the relevant Met Services, but we hope in future
     that we may be able to provide this information, jointly with the Hadley Centre, subject
     to obtaining consent for publication from the rights holders.





     -------------------------------
     Annie Ogden, Head of Communications,
     University of East Anglia,
     Norwich, NR4 7TJ.
     Tel:+44 (0)1603 592764
     [3]www.uea.ac.uk/comm
     ............................................




   Prof. Phil Jones
   Climatic Research Unit        Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090
   School of Environmental Sciences    Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784
   University of East Anglia
   Norwich                          Email    p.jones@uea.ac.uk
   NR4 7TJ
   UK
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

