Dear Mr. Morton,

Re: Internet Site: "Diary of a Relapse"

The above publication posted on the internet has been brought to my attention by Trust staff specifically named or otherwise identifiable in the document who are extremely concerned about factual inaccuracies and implications as to their professional conduct in some of the views which you have expressed.

Whilst the Trust recognises the right to freedom of expression, care must obviously be taken that any comments expressed are not defamatory. The Trust has not at this stage taken specialist legal advice as to whether any of the contents of your published diary do in fact constitute the tort of defamation, but the Trust does have a policy of providing legal support to staff in such circumstances.

Whether the contents of your diary constitute defamation or not, the view of the Trust is that some of the content of your diary makes unfair and unreasonable assumptions. In order to resolve this situation I would request that either.

1. The "Diary of a Relapse" is removed from the internet with immediate effect and that there is no further publication (either electronic or written) or
2. Statements causing specific offence to the staff concerned are identified by the Trust and these statements are deleted or
3. You permit the Trust to specifically comment on some of the content and these comments by way of reply are then incorporated in your published diary.

I would further advise that some of your comments imply dissatisfaction with the service. If you have cause for dissatisfaction, there is a complaints procedure which can address concerns about the service and these can be expressed by writing to the Chief Executive of the Trust at the above address.

I hope that this situation can be resolved by your selecting one of the above options thereby avoiding any need for litigation. I would be grateful therefore if you could either write to me at the above address with your response or telephone me on [phone number deleted] if you wish to discuss the matter further.

If I do not hear from you within 28 days of the date of this letter and the "Diary of a Relapse" is still extant on the internet, this matter will be referred to our solicitors for further action. The Trust will also continue to monitor the content of the relevant web site.

Yours sincerely,

[name deleted]
Assistant Director - Corporate Services

cc: [name deleted] - Chief Executive