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April 10, 2015 permalink

What kind of research do judges conduct while deciding whether to separate children from parents? They watch porn. Four British judges are out of a job after mis-using court computers.

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Judges dismissed after watching pornography on court computers

Judicial Conduct Investigations Office says the four men have left their roles after what it described as "wholly unacceptable conduct"

By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent, 9:59AM GMT 17 Mar 2015

Three judges have been removed from office and a fourth has resigned after allegations they viewed pornography on court computers, it has been announced.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said in a statement that Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief Justice, and Chris Grayling, the Lord Chief Justice, had investigated allegations against the men.

They concluded that it was an "inexcusable" use of court equipment and condemned the judges' conduct as "wholly unacceptable".

The material viewed did not include images of children and was not illegal, a spokesman added.

But he refused to disclose whether the pornography had been viewed during court cases while the judges were sitting on the bench.

A statement from the JCIO said: "District Judge Timothy Bowles, Immigration Judge Warren Grant and Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock have been removed from judicial office following an investigation into an allegation that they viewed pornographic material on judicial IT equipment in their offices.

"The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice were satisfied that the material did not include images of children or any other illegal content, but concluded that this was an inexcusable misuse of their judicial IT accounts and wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder."

Another judge, Recorder Andrew Maw, who sat at Lincoln County Court, was also found to have viewed similar inappropriate material on his judicial IT account.

"The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice would likewise have removed Recorder Maw had he not resigned before the conclusion of the disciplinary process," said a spokesman.

Judge Bowles sat at Romford County Court in east London, Judge Bullock was on the court circuit in the North East, including North Shields County Court, and Judge Grant served in the lower immigration tribunals based in central London.

In 2005 Judge Bullock was involved in a prominent case at Newcastle County Court when Jimmy "Five Bellies" Gardner - a close friend of Paul Gascoigne, the England footballer - was declared bankrupt.

The cases were not linked and are understood to have taken place at different times and places.

One of the judges said he had been suffering from "severe and undiagnosed depression" at the time of the allegation.

Mr Grant, who now works as an immigration law specialist at a firm of north London solicitors, said: "I do not wish to comment save to say that for some years before, and during, the period covered by the conduct which formed the subject of the complaint laid against me I was suffering from severe and undiagnosed depression.

"I request that the privacy of my family and myself be respected so that we are allowed to continue with our lives."

Father-of-five Mr Grant, of Golders Green, north London, was educated at the Royal Newcastle Grammar School and Cambridge University, and has an interest in jazz.

Source: Telegraph (UK)