LONDON, March 17 (UPI) -- Three judges in the United Kingdom have been fired for using their official work accounts to view porn.
District Judge Timothy Bowles, Immigration Judge Warren Grant and Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock were removed from judicial office. The judges are not linked, according to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office investigation.
Although the pornography content was not illegal, U.K. Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice said it was "an inexcusable misuse of their judicial IT accounts and wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder."
A spokesman for the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice said that they were "satisfied that the material did not include images of children or any other illegal content."
A fourth judge, Recorder Andrew Maw, was also found to have viewed similar content on his work account, but resigned before disciplinary action was taken.
If the sacked judges wish to appeal, a former judge would bring a judicial review of a decision to remove them as a judge, which would all be heard in court by a judge -- an interesting prospect, according to BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman.
The announcement to remove the three judges is unprecedented since it is rare for judges to be fired, Coleman wrote.
