160 attempts daily to access online porn in UK parliament: data

Around 160 requests a day were made in late 2017 to access pornography websites from computers within the Houses of Parliament, Britain's Press Association (PA) reported Monday.

The British Union flag outside parliament in London, Britain, 12 December 2017

The British Union flag outside parliament in London, Britain, 12 December 2017 Source: AAP

A total of 24,473 attempts were made since last June's general election from devices connected to the parliamentary network, according to data obtained by a PA Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Prime Minister Theresa May is already reeling from a wave of sexual misconduct allegations in Westminster.

She was forced to dump minister and long-time friend Damian Green last month after he apparently misled police over claims pornography was found on computers in his Westminster office in 2008.

The parliamentary internet network is used by MPs, Lords in the upper house and their staff.
Authorities claim most attempts are not deliberate and point to a decrease in recent years.

Parliament blocked 113,208 attempts in 2016, down from 213,020 the previous year.

"All pornographic websites are blocked by parliament's computer network," a parliamentary spokesman told PA.

"The vast majority of 'attempts' to access them are not deliberate.

"This data also covers personal devices used when logged on to parliament's guest Wi-Fi."


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world