A fifth of people watch porn during working day

Up to 21 per cent of 13.8 million people watch pornography between 9am and 5.30pm for just under an hour

The Ofcom study revealed that 21 per cent of 13.8 million people watch online pornography between 9am and 5.30pm

One in five of millions of people watch pornography during the working day, according to the UK’s media watchdog.

The Ofcom study revealed that 21 per cent of 13.8 million people watch online pornography between 9am and 5.30pm for an average of 55 minutes.

The regulator said it was unclear whether this was because of more people working from home as there were not previous figures to compare with.

Adults only spent more time watching pornography between midnight and 9am, with 59 minutes on average, according to the study. Seventy-three per cent of those doing so were men.

In April last year, former MP Neil Parish resigned after he was caught watching pornography twice in the House of Commons.

The former Tiverton and Honiton MP admitted to watching explicit content inside the chamber, claiming the first time was accidental while looking at tractors but the second was a “moment of madness”.

A previous US survey of approximately 2,000 adults carried out in 2014 found 63 per cent of men had viewed pornography at least once at work in the previous three months – and 38 per cent had done so more than once.

Among women, 36 per cent had viewed pornography at work in the past three months and 13 per cent more than once.

A three-part study of 2,500 men and women in Hungary found eight different motivations behind internet pornography use.

The most common reason given was pleasure – a motivation for 45 per cent of respondents. Another 12 per cent cited curiosity and 10 per cent said they were indulging fantasies about unobtainable sexual experiences.