Telegrammed by Ithuriel
When it comes to re-writing the past, DafT makes the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia look like the King James Bible for timeless consistency.
On the DafT web site, the April 2009 press release announcing that NXEA has signed up to acquire new and cascaded train is described thus:
East Anglian Rail Service improvements - Correction
CORRECTED VERSION
2 April 2009 15:10
Corrected? It has been massively re-written and respun.
The original opening line read:
"Jobs will be safeguarded at Derby based train builder, Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd, thanks to a new agreement between the Department for Transport and National Express East Anglia, (NXEA.), Transport Secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced today."
In the 'corrected' version it reads
"Jobs will be created or safeguarded and rail travel in East Anglia will be improved thanks to a new agreement between the Department for Transport and National Express East Anglia (NXEA), Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced today."
And after the first two paragraphs there follows 400 words of brand new purple prose.
Among the many deletions was the reference to the new vehicles being owned by 'Lloyds TSB General Leasing (No.8) Limited, a subsidiary of Lloyds TSB Bank'. (Fortunately Hansard is not so easy to rewrite. Ed)
The message is clear - you can't believe a word DafT or its ministers say.
