Scottish Civil Servants Access Porn, Betting Sites on Work Laptops

Recent reports reveal that Scottish civil servants, many working from home, have used government-issued laptops to access pornography, gambling sites, and stream Netflix excessively. Official data shows 16 attempts in six months to visit sites like Pornhub, Betfair, and Paddy Power, while the number of Netflix logins was too high to quantify. These findings have sparked public outrage and criticism, with calls for stricter disciplinary actions, including dismissals, for those misusing taxpayer-funded devices. The revelations come amid the Scottish Government's push, led by First Minister John Swinney, to have civil servants return to offices at least two days a week to improve productivity and oversight. This controversy follows previous scandals, such as the resignation of Health Secretary Michael Matheson after incurring expensive personal bills on government devices. Critics argue that such behavior indicates a disregard for taxpayers' money and reflects poorly on the culture within the SNP government, especially given the substantial growth and cost of the Scottish civil service.