A former Counter Terrorism Command detective says there is “no doubt” that Damian Green, Prime Minister Theresa May’s right-hand man in Cabinet, accessed “extreme” pornography from his parliamentary office.
Former detective Neil Lewis, who examined the First Secretary of State’s computer during a 2008 inquiry into leaks, told the BBC that, while “you can’t put fingers on a keyboard”, the behaviour he observed left him with “no doubt whatsoever” that Green was the one viewing the material.
“The computer was in Mr Green’s office, on his desk, logged in, his account, his name,” said Lewis, who was a forensic examiner for Counter Terrorism Command, also known as SO15, at the time of the investigation.
“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.”
Reports claim that the pornography viewed by the Breitbart critic, who is currently under investigation for sexual harassment, were “so extreme that viewing such images was made illegal just weeks later” — with police seeking advice from the Crown Prosecution Service on whether to bring charges against him.
“Porn was being accessed on an almost virtual daily basis. Police were told nothing could be done,” claimed one source.
“Quite simply, it was not illegal to be in possession of extreme images before January 2009. If the raid had happened a few weeks later it would have been.”
The 61-year-old had denied browsing or downloading any pornographic material whatsoever, with a spokesman saying he still “maintains his innocence of these charges and awaits the outcome of the investigation.”
Green, a staunch Remainer who boasts he would vote to stay in the European Union if given the chance in another referendum — although he claims he does not anticipate one — made headlines recently when he attempted to curry favour with the mainstream media by disparaging Breitbart News at a Press Gallery dinner.
Green claimed the anti-establishment tone of many alternative media outlets was “feeding an atmosphere of increasing hatred which at the most horrible of extremes led to the killing of Jo Cox,” and appealed to the self-interest of the assembled journalists by suggesting his arguments would “not be lost on many people in this room whose livelihoods are under threat” from Breitbart.
Breitbart editor-in-chief Raheem Kassam responded robustly to Green’s speech, writing: “Frankly, I couldn’t care less if Green — presumably a grown man — feels scared of what we publish on these pages.
“We never encourage violence. We never endorse physical attacks. And he would do well to understand the threats we face every day simply for reporting the truth and daring to oppose the state-endorsed liberalism promoted by almost every other part of the political spectrum.”
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