MP calls for Internet Cabinet minister

The UK government must appoint a Cabinet minister for the Internet, according to one back-bench MP.

"An eMinister in the Department of Trade & Industry seems mad to me," said Derek Wyatt, joint chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group and Labour MP for Sittingbourne & Sheppey.

"The Internet presents a fundamental challenge to the way in which we work. Government departments are arranged vertically - but the Internet cuts across all these. We need an eMinister to sit on the Cabinet and look across all departments."

Wyatt made his comments at a roundtable discussion in London, organised to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first networked computer.

The outspoken MP also claimed that many traditional Labour Party members struggle to understand the pace of change on the Web because of their background in the public sector.

Another member of the panel, Andy Reid, director of computer services at Eton College, echoed the MP's worries about the government's approach to high-tech education. "I'm very worried that the emphasis is on technology and not the support for that technology," he said.

The equipment provided by the government is not being used properly, he warned, and its educational initiatives are not yielding results.