Attempts to access websites classified as pornography were made almost 700 times a day by computers inside Parliament last year, it has been reported.
Almost 250,000 attempts were made in total, according to data released by the Palace of Westminster’s IT department under Freedom of Information (FoI) laws.
The figures, down from around 800 a day according to similar FoI requests two years ago, are likely to include a large number of “visits” made unintentionally, most commonly via unwanted internet pop-ups.
But it comes at a time when the Government is taking unprecedented steps to crack down on the use of pornography among the general public.
Announcing moves to introduce internet porn filters in every home two years ago, David Cameron said online pornography was “corroding childhood”.
“In the darkest corners of the internet, there are things going on that are a direct danger to our children, and that must be stamped out,” he said.
The general conduct of Parliamentarians is under heightened scrutiny in the wake of an alleged drug and sex scandal surrounding standards committee chair Lord Sewel.
The latest figures about the use of Parliamentary computers, released following an FoI request by Express.co.uk, came after it emerged that sexymp.co.uk, a site that allows users to rate the looks of MPs, was the most-accessed banned site in the Palace of Westminster.
Responding to the publication of the new figures by Express.co.uk, a spokesperson for the House of Commons said there were “clear boundaries” in place to “discourage inappropriate use” of its servers.
When similar figures were released last year, the Commons press office suggested they “do not provide an accurate representation of the number of purposeful requests made by network users”.
