‘Thousands’ of pornographic images on deputy PM Damian Green’s computer
Former Scotland Yard detective says he was ‘shocked’ by content in browser history

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
A former Scotland Yard detective has told the BBC that he was “shocked” by the amount of pornography that had been viewed on a computer seized from Tory MP Damian Green’s office in Parliament.
Neil Lewis, a former computer forensics officer, claims there were “thousands” of images, with porn being searched for several hours on some days.
Green, the First Secretary of State and Theresa May’s de facto deputy, has said he never watched or downloaded pornography on the computer, which was seized during an inquiry into government leaks in 2008.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Lewis, who retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2014, said a check of the computer’s internet history over a three-month period showed that legal porn had been viewed “extensively”.
Lewis’s analysis of the way the computer had been used left the former detective in “no doubt whatsoever” that it was Green, then an opposition immigration spokesperson, who was accessing the images.
“The computer was in Mr Green’s office, on his desk, logged in, his account, his name,” said Lewis.
“In between browsing pornography, he was sending emails from his account, his personal account, reading documents... it was ridiculous to suggest anybody else could have done it.”
Fellow Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, defended Green on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, saying: “We need him getting on with the job of helping [to run] the country and not being attacked and blackened in this way.”
Friends of Green are incredulous, says The Times’s Matt Chorley, who claims that one told him that the deputy PM is “just gobsmacked” by the claims. The unnamed source reportedly told Chorley: “It is deeply concerning that a former police officer is putting these non-illegal claims into the public domain.”
Chorley’s source added that at the time of the police raid, Green was getting “bombshell leaks from the Labour government, running campaigns against ID cards and detention without charge. The idea that he had the hours in the day to spend doing this stuff is just ridiculous.”
A Cabinet Office inquiry set up last month to investigate allegations that the 61-year-old minister had made inappropriate advances to a political activist, Kate Maltby, is also examining the porn claims.
According to The Sun’s Steve Hawkes, the report into Green’s behaviour could be released as early as today and is expected to contain “serious criticism” of his actions.
“Downing Street is believed to have spent the past two days working on a desperate plan to keep Mr Green in his job after seeing the initial findings,” Hawkes adds.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Why New York City was caught off guard by flash flooding
Talking Point Is climate change moving too fast or are city leaders dragging their feet?
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Today's political cartoons - October 2, 2023
Monday's cartoons - Biden's EV plan, the Senate dress code, and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
What is Rep. Matt Gaetz's endgame?
Today's Big Question The MAGA congressman loves to sow chaos, but there might be more to his latest moves than just disruption.
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Why is the UK pushing Germany on fighter jets for Saudi Arabia?
Today's big question Berlin has opposed the sale of weapons to Riyadh on humanitarian grounds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Is it time the world re-evaluated the rules on migration?
Today's Big Question Home Secretary Suella Braverman questions whether 1951 UN Refugee Convention is 'fit for our modern age'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak's tree code: what is the PM's election strategy?
Today's Big Question Conservative leader lining up major policy announcements in bid to rebrand as 'change' candidate
By Elliott Goat Published
-
Will Rishi Sunak's green wedge issue win over the public?
Today's Big Question The PM draws dividing line with Labour on net zero ahead of the next general election
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Industry backlash as Sunak set to water down green pledges
Speed Read Automotive and energy bosses look for clarity after PM backs away from UK net zero goal
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
October by-elections: what's at stake for Labour, Lib Dems and Tories
Parties will contest two former safe Tory seats on 19 October, putting pressure on Rishi Sunak
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Jobs for the boys: does the UK need a minister for men?
Conservative MP calls for dedicated cabinet role to combat 'crisis' in men's mental health and education
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The big business of lobbying in Westminster
feature A long series of parliamentary lobbying scandals has left many fearing that big business is able to buy privileged access to MPs
By The Week Published