Porn sites accessed 20,000 times a month on parliament computers

Portia Arthur

July 27, 2015 11:09 AM

Computers used by MPs, peers and staff accessing restricted sites

Parliament of UK

Almost 250,000 attempts to visit porn websites were made on parliamentary computers last year.

Some 42,000 visits were made to pages classed as pornographic in April – more than 1,300 a day.

The second most popular month was October when there were more than 30,000 hits.

In the previous year there were 350, 000 hits to restricted websites.

The figures emerged in a Freedom of Information disclosure to Express.co.UK

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: “Some of these 'visits' are no doubt the product of pop-ups beyond anybody's control, but the number is absolutely staggering".

"One would hope that those attempting to access these sites at Parliament could keep their extra-curricular activities safely within their own four walls, as it's not an appropriate use of time when it's on the taxpayers' tab."

After the 2013 figures were revealed, a House of Commons spokeswoman said: "We do not consider the data to provide an accurate representation of the number of purposeful requests made by network users due to the variety of ways in which websites can be designed to act, react and interact and due to the potential operation of third party software."

It comes after David Cameron vowed to block hardcore porn from "the darkest corners of the internet".

In 2013 he said: "For a lot of children, watching hardcore pornography is in danger of becoming a rite of passage.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep our children safe."

Source: Telegraph

Portia Arthur