01 February 2002
The website, which was supposed to put details of the 1901 census online, was developed by QinetiQ, a PPP company hived off from Dera, a Ministry of Defence agency, last year.
The site collapsed within hours of its launch on January 2, after being swamped with surfers trying to obtain information about their ancestors. At the project launch, QinetiQ admitted that it 'did not have the resources to undertake the scale of the work required' and had been forced to use subcontractors.
Rosie Winterton, the minister responsible for the PRO, told the Commons that the record office's contract with QinetiQ included 'penalty clauses' but said the details were 'commercially sensitive'.
A spokesman for the PRO ruled out upgrading the site to cope with the 20 million hits it received when it was launched.
'The investment required would be prohibitive and would result in unreasonable charges to the public,' he said.
PFfeb2002
