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A former Queenstown deputy mayor whose e-mail spat with a real estate company employee riveted the country has launched another attack.

Former Southlander Margaret McHugh, of Auckland cafe, the Gourmet Food Store, said she was contacting the employers of people who have sent her disparaging e-mails from work computers. She wanted to let them know how their staff were using their work time, she said.

This follows a vitriolic e-mail sent by Ms McHugh to Ray White corporate office employee Hayley Johnstone that spread around the country within minutes.

Ms Johnstone forwarded the exchange to friends, who themselves forwarded the e-mail.

"This provoked a volley of e-mail responses, many in support of me, but also many containing very disparaging and clearly defamatory remarks where, surprisingly, the authors have -- in their employer's time -- chosen to not only identify themselves but also their employers," Ms McHugh said.

She had received about 1000 e-mails.

"We have examples of e-mails from many individuals including government employees, senior employees of Fonterra (threatening to copy the e-mail to everyone within that organisation), staff from major accounting firm Price Waterhouse and even an extremely personal attack on me from an employee of my (now former) insurers Tower Group -- all of these e-mails clearly identify the sender, their employer and were written in work time," she said.

I feel I have a responsibility to make contact with these people's employers and make sure they are aware as to what their staff are up to in their time and under the name of their employers organisations." Ms McHugh said she responded the way she did because she was irked by ongoing last minute demands from Ms Johnstone.

She said as a busy caterer she made no apology for her direct approach.

Ms McHugh said she had received tremendous support from friends, business associates and existing and new customers.

"For an old duck like me who has been in many a good scrap over the years its water off the proverbial." There had been a surge in the number of hits on her website, she said.

The Southland Times understands Ms McHugh has called in a lawyer to deal with the e-mail spat but she would not comment on that yesterday.

Employment lawyer Andrew Scott-Howman, of the Wellington, lawfirm Bell Gully, said sending a disparaging e-mail was beyond what would be considered as reasonable personal use of a company computer.

- © Fairfax NZ News