A disgraced, former UK judge, sacked for watching porn on court computers, has raised doubts about the lawfulness of the sacking.
He was removed from his judicial position for viewing “pornographic material on judicial IT equipment, along with two other judges."
The Judicial Conduct Investigations office said it was an inexcusable misuse of his judicial IT account and unacceptable conduct.
Warren Grant, the 61-year-old former judge, has now made an employment law claim against the
Ministry of Justice, citing the Disability Discrimination Act, saying his behaviour stemmed from a mental illness triggered by marital problems.
The case, before the London Central Employment Tribunal, heard from Matrix Chambers barrister Mathew Purchase, who said Grant had broken strict guidelines when he used is work account to access pornography.
“This wasn’t a case of watching pornography one or two times, or even 10 or 20 times, but was persistent – several times a day – over a 14-month period or so,” Purchase said.
Grant told the hearing that his work wasn’t affected during the time he was drawn to pornography between December 2012 and February 2014.
The tribunal is continuing and could award Grant between £18,000 and £30,000 in damages if it finds him to be a victim of disability discrimination.
Grant was one of three English judges sacked last year for watching adult content at work.
