In a written answer in the House of Commons yesterday, UK Transport Under-Secretary Jim Fitzpatrick revealed that 'fewer than five' staff had been suspended or dismissed for accessing obscene or other prohibited material on the department's computers last year.

This is a considerable improvement on 2006, when 18 people were sacked from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Wales for looking at porn during working hours.

In the last five years, a grand total of nine workers have been disciplined and 26 dismissed for inappropriate use of computers at the department responsible for transport across the UK.

Fitzpatrick said that regular reminders are issued to staff about their responsibilities with regard to the use of e-mail and internet systems.

'In order to ensure that these systems are not abused, or that the Department for Transport's security is not compromised, e-mails and internet use may be monitored from time to time,' he added.

Exactly what prompted Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Mark Hoban to ask the question in the House remains a mystery. X