Senior UK minister resigns amid pornography scandal

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UK's First Secretary of State Damian Green resigned on Wednesday after an internal investigation found that he had made misleading comments about pornography found on his computer in the parliamentary office in 2008.

"I regret that I've been asked to resign from the government following breaches of the Ministerial Code, for which I apologize," Green said in a letter on Wednesday to Prime Minister Theresa May, who said she had accepted his resignation with deep regret.

May told her de facto deputy, and former EU Remain campaigner, that his conduct had breached the ministerial code of conduct and "fallen short" of the behavior expected of ministers, Reuters reported.

Damian Green leaves Downing Street in London, June 11, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Why is Green important?

Green was one of May's most trusted allies who had helped pacify her deeply divided party. His resignation is a blow for May as she navigates the final year of tortuous Brexit negotiations before Britain's exit from the EU in March 2019.

Green, who voted to stay in the EU, was appointed as first secretary of state just six months ago in a bid to shore up May's premiership in the wake of her disastrous bet on a June snap election which lost her party its majority in parliament.

How did it happen?

Green's future was thrust into doubt when the Sunday Times newspaper reported last month that police in 2008 had found pornography on his office computers in the Houses of Parliament. In response, Green said that the story was untrue.

A review, requested by May and conducted by a senior government official, concluded that Green's statements which suggested he was not aware that indecent material had been found on the computers, were "inaccurate and misleading."

File photo of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May /Reuters Photo

The review, a summary of which was distributed by May's Downing Street office, found that he had breached rules governing the behavior of ministers.

Green, 61, added that he did not download or view pornography on his parliamentary computers. He said that he should have been clearer about his statements after the story broke.

He is May's third cabinet minister to resign in recent weeks after May's defense secretary quit in November citing past conduct that fell below the required standards.

May's aid minister resigned a week later after admitting to holding undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials.

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