How to approach this

[ChroniC]

How did this turn out in the end?

I told him, a variation of what I wrote in the OP. He came back with a quite calm and reasonable email, saying he understood the situation.
That was all, and he is now on holiday, so if there is to be any fallout from it via a bitterness towards me, I wont know yet.

I think he will likely just forget about it as he would be imo (trumpet blowing) taking a step back if he does sack me off.

 

[dowie]

to be fair there doesn't necessarily have to have been anything sinister on his part, he might well have asked fairly innocently considering it to be useful (without thinking it through) and your e-mail made him realise it wasn't appropriate, so no biggie

 

[ChroniC]

hopefully so