Top Commons civil servant held over child porn

A TOP civil servant has been arrested for downloading child pornography onto a computer in the House of Commons.

Senior office clerk Phillip John Lyon, 37, who arranges MPs' weekly question time for Tony Blair, has been charged with 10 counts of making indecent images of children on his computer at work.

Police seized his computer after a tip-off. A source said: "Officers were shocked when they came across a suspect in the House of Commons. A computer, software disks and documents were seized for examination."

An investigation into an internet child-porn ring led detectives to the Palace of Westminster. They had to obtain permission to search the building from the Serjeant At Arms who is in charge of security in the Houses of Parliament, because they have no formal jurisdiction there.

Five days later, the National Crime Squad swooped on Lyon's home in Basildon, Essex. He was arrested in April and appeared on bail at Charing Cross police station yesterday. He will appear at Bow Street magistrates court on 10 September. If convicted of making child porn, Lyon could face up to 10 years in jail.

As senior clerk to the Commons select committees, Lyon's main duty was organising Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday afternoons.

His position entitled him to full access to the building and he sat in on private committee sessions during the crossexamination of witnesses.

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