Of course, full marks to Microsoft for getting the British Library to support them so vigorously.
When I first got interested in OpenXML, I contacted Andrew Miller, MP. He has a website, although I do not recommend visiting it with a standards-compliant browser such as Firefox, because it does not display properly (I assume it works in IE6, but I have not tried it). If you can find the biography page, it shows that he is “Joint Vice-Chairman, Parliamentary Information Technology Committee 1997-”. This Committee, known as PITCOM, is not an official committee, it is one of many backbench committees. It is intended to foster interest in IT amongst backbenchers (from both chambers, Commons and Lords). A little googling soon takes you to the PITCOM site. It has a .pdf download (rather bizarrely paginated) to celebrate its 25th anniversary last year. It turns out that Andrew Miller is now the chairman. So Andrew Miller is evidently one of the most knowledgeable MPs in the IT area, which is why I contacted him.
He immediately explained that it was vital for the British Library that OpenXML was adopted as an ISO/IEC standard. When I expressed some surprise, he referred me to Adam Farquhar at the British Library.
It is hard to blame Andrew Miller. He is a busy MP with many responsibilities and interests. He has identified OpenXML as an important subject and has immediately consulted someone he sees as a technical expert in the public sector, whom he can count on for an objective opinion. Unfortunately, that is not exactly what he gets.
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