Millennium bug crisis could trigger national emergency
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Your support makes all the difference.THE millennium bug computer crisis might have to be treated as a civil emergency from the end of next year, the Prime Minister warned yesterday.
Announcing the package of "bug-busting" measures disclosed in yesterday's Independent, Tony Blair told a London conference that the economy would slow down as companies diverted resources to cope with computer breakdowns and some companies would go bust.
He also disclosed that he had received a warning from Niall FitzGerald, chairman of Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate, "that it could cause a world-wide recession".
With computers working on two-digit years, like 98, many will be unable to differentiate between 1900 and 2000 when 00 arrives at the turn of the century. Millions of inter-linked computer systems could crash and many are already betraying problems. "The problem is ticking away simultaneously inside many computers, mainframes and electronic systems all over the world," he warned.
Mr Blair said there were parts of the national infrastructure that were vital to everyday life, "whether the gas, water and electricity companies, the Benefits Agency or the transport system. These are the parts of the infrastructure that we cannot afford to fail in the next two years."
He said it would be "foolhardy" not to prepare for the possibility of failures, but added: "There are well-established safety net arrangements for coping with civil emergencies. We will make sure that they are properly geared up to deal with any major problems which could be caused by the millennium bug."
The Independent has been told that civil defence plans are being adapted to make sure that essential users get essential fuel, power and food supplies.
The Prime Minister said yesterday that much work had already been done, but he warned that some hospitals and local authorities were being left behind. "Without careful preparation there could be major disruption to essential government services," he said.
Don Cruickshank, chairman of the Action 2000 campaign, said last night: "All the public services - like air traffic control, telecommunications, power generation - have their forms of emergency planning. But they all need to be adapted to deal with the special features of the millennium bug, and brought together into a cross-the-economy contingency plan."
Mr Blair's warnings were underlined by the NHS Confederation of Health Authorities and Trusts, which said the Government had to find extra cash to deal with the problem, or patient care would suffer. The bill to the NHS was estimated at between pounds 500m and pounds 6bn, but no extra money was being provided.
Malcolm Bruce, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokes- man, said: "If Tony Blair wants to show that he understands the magnitude of this problem, then he should tell Gordon Brown to allocate money from the Contingency Reserve to helping local authorities, the NHS and the Ministry of Defence tackle these problems."
Letters, page 16
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