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Porn swoop
... Houses of Parliament
By
MIKE SULLIVAN
Crime Editor
A TOP aide to MPs at the House of Commons was yesterday charged with
having child porn on his computer.
Senior
clerk Phillip Lyon, who arranges the weekly Prime Minister’s Question
Time for Tony Blair, was arrested after vice cops raided his Commons
office.
Lyon,
37, is accused of making indecent images of children.
The
dramatic raid followed a probe into an internet kiddie porn ring.
Stunned
cops found the trail led straight to the heart of Government.
Detectives
from the Metropolitan Police Clubs and Vice Obscene Publications and
Internet Unit got a warrant to search the Palace of Westminster.
They
seized Lyon’s computer. And five days later they raided his home in
Basildon, Essex.
Lyon
yesterday went to London’s Charing Cross police station on bail.
He was
charged with ten specimen counts of making indecent images of children
on his computer at work.
The
charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment. Lyon was
bailed to appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court on September 10.
Police
would have had to seek permission from Commons authorities, usually the
Sarjeant At Arms, before they entered the House, as they have no formal
jurisdiction there.
Lyon’s
arrest in April followed a tip-off to the Met’s vice squad from
National Crime Squad cops.
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."
Lyon
is a highly trusted senior clerk to the Commons select committees.
His
main duties are arranging Question Time on Wednesday afternoons. He has
daily contact with senior backbench MPs and sits in on private sessions
of the select committees as they cross-examine witnesses.
Lyon
has a pass to the Commons guaranteeing him full access to the building
after being vetted.
A
Commons source said: "He was a highly respected member of the
civil staff who was implicitly trusted by colleagues and MPs.
"He
was in a position of great responsibility. The allegations against him
are shocking."
Meanwhile,
in a separate operation a Scotland Yard computer analyst was yesterday
charged with downloading indecent images of children.
Nigel
Morris, 36, of Pinner, Middlesex, worked as an outside contractor on
police computers for the firm SEMA.
Morris
has been bailed to appear at Bow Street Magistrates on September 9.
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