Civil servants who used Scottish Government devices to access pornography have been spared formal disciplinary action, newly released documents have revealed.

Despite official data previously showing the Pornhub website was accessed on government-issued devices, officials admitted no cases were escalated to formal HR disciplinary procedures.

The admission suggests those caught accessing porn may have been let off with an informal reprimand from line managers.

The original revelations emerged after an earlier Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Scottish Mail on Sunday last year found government devices had been used to access Pornhub as well as online betting sites.

The row comes amid continuing controversy over home working in Scotland’s bloated civil service, with ministers repeatedly facing criticism about low attendance levels among staff who still spend large portions of their working week away from the office.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr has hit out at the revelation and likened the situation to the row around former SNP minister Michael Matheson who charged the taxpayer almost £11,000 for an iPad roaming bill he’d racked up while on holiday in Morocco.

Mr Kerr said: ‘Taxpayers expect Scottish Government employees to work on their public-funded devices.

‘So, this flagrant abuse was shocking when it was brought to light.

‘The public will rightly be asking the question what does it say about the culture in the SNP Government that staff think it’s okay to use a work device to watch porn?

‘And the fact that they spared any formal disciplinary action is unacceptable.

‘Perhaps some thought it was fine to do, after an £11,000 bill was run up by an SNP minister [former MSP Michael Matheson] watching football in Morocco on a Scottish parliament iPad.’

Mr Matheson later said his teenage sons had used the parliamentary device to watch football during the holiday – running up a huge data-roaming bill – and agreed to pay the money back to the Scottish parliament.

The scandal saw him forced to quit as Health Secretary in 2024.

The new disclosures have raised fresh questions about standards within the SNP Government and whether staff faced any consequences for using taxpayer-funded equipment to view explicit material.

The row erupted after a Scottish Mail on Sunday FOI request in May last year exposed government staff using taxpayer-funded devices to access Pornhub six times, while online betting sites Betfair and Paddy Power were visited a further ten times over the previous six months.

Officials also admitted there had been so many attempts to access Netflix that calculating the total would exceed FOI cost limits.

Critics said the revelations raised serious questions about productivity and oversight within the SNP Government’s civil service.

The findings came against the backdrop of a fierce row over working from home, with ministers under pressure to persuade more staff back into government offices.

At the time, critics argued taxpayers would be appalled that official equipment was being used to access inappropriate websites while public sector payroll costs continued to rise.

The Scottish Mail on Sunday asked the Scottish Government for details of what action, if any, had been taken against civil servants found accessing pornography.

The Scottish Government said minor offences, including breaches of its IT Code of Conduct, are ‘dealt with as part of line managers’ day-to-day responsibilities’.

It added: ‘Where that disciplinary engagement is resolved by line managers, this is not recorded centrally.’

Officials said that where misconduct is considered more serious, cases are escalated to central HR disciplinary procedures involving investigations and potential sanctions.

But the response went on to state: ‘No such escalation has been required in relation to the subject of your inquiry over the requested time period.’

The Scottish Mail on Sunday had asked for details of staff disciplined for accessing pornography during the previous three financial years and the current financial year.

The response said no formal disciplinary proceedings were initiated – despite government data previously recording access to Pornhub on official devices.

Officials had previously said any attempt to access pornographic material on official devices was a disciplinary matter.

The FOI response also revealed that any action taken informally by line managers would not appear in central records.

The Scottish Government also said IT logs are only retained for ten months.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Under the Scottish Government’s discipline policy, line managers are expected to deal with any concerns about inappropriate behaviour at an early stage and, where appropriate, on an informal basis.

‘Where an allegation of misconduct is more serious, formal disciplinary procedures would apply.’