Watchdog acts following “wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder” by four judges
Three judges have been removed from office and a further judge has stepped down after allegedly watching porn on court computers
District Judge Timothy Bowles, Immigration Judge Warren Grant and Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock have all been removed from their judicial positions, while a fourth judge, Recorder Andrew Maw, opted to resign before the completion of the disciplinary process. If Maw hadn’t quit, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said that the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice would have sacked him.
A statement released by the JCIO this morning stated that all four judges had apparently watched pornographic material on court computers. This finding followed an investigation into an allegation that the judges viewed porn on judicial IT equipment in their offices.
The illicit material viewed was not illegal in nature and did not include images of children, with the judges not linked in any way.
Update: 12:20pm — According to The Independent, Judge Bowles was based at Romford County Court in north-east London, Judge Grant worked at the first tier immigration tribunal based at Taylor House in London, Recorder Bullock worked on the North Eastern Circuit and Recorder Maw worked at Lincoln County Court.
READ THE JCIO STATEMENT IN FULL BELOW:
JCIO Press Statement – 4 Judges – 17 March 2015-2