Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has come under fire for having a lax attitude to cybersecurity after divulging on Twitter that she shares her login and passwords with staff, including temporary interns.

She was defending her colleague, Damian Green, who has been accused of having pornography on his Commons computer, when she made the admission.

Questioning the claims of a retired police officer, who said Green must have been responsible for the material found on his machine, she tweeted: “My staff log onto my computer on my desk with my login everyday. Including interns on exchange programmes.”

My staff log onto my computer on my desk with my login everyday. Including interns on exchange programmes. For the officer on @BBCNews just now to claim that the computer on Greens desk was accessed and therefore it was Green is utterly preposterous !! — Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 2, 2017

A social media backlash ensued, forcing the Mid Bedfordshire MP to defend her position with a flurry of tweets claiming sharing passwords was standard practice around parliament, despite being a breach of IT security rules.

For the record, Nadine, it is a fundamental DPA security breach to have staff access to a Parliamentary account in this way. I work in local govt & it is drummed into us from day one regarding client security and access to personal data. You're breaking the law. @NadineDorries https://t.co/zh6l3VJbuy — jilletteblue (@jilletteblue) December 3, 2017

Responding to claims she has a “cavalier attitude to data security”, she said she was a backbench MP who did not have access to government documents.

She told critics in one reply: “You don’t have a team of four to six staff answering the 300 emails you receive every day.”

Flattered by number of people on here who think I’m part of the Government and have access to government docs 😅

I’m a back bench MP - 2 Westminster based computers in a shared office. On my computer, there is a shared email account. That’s it. Nothing else. Sorry to disappoint! — Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 3, 2017

Her fellow MP, Nick Boles, waded into the debate to say he also shared his password for the same reason.

I certainly do. In fact I often forget my password and have to ask my staff what it is. — Nick Boles MP (@NickBoles) December 3, 2017

And Colchester MP Will Quince added: “Less login sharing and more that I leave my machine unlocked so they can use it if needs be. My office manager does know my login though. Ultimately I trust my team.”

The House of Commons handbook rules states that staff must not share their passwords.

Less login sharing and more that I leave my machine unlocked so they can use it if needs be. My office manager does know my login though. Ultimately I trust my team. — Will Quince MP (@willquince) December 3, 2017

According to the Sky News data protection officer, Carl Gottlieb: “Sharing access to confidential systems should always be minimised, especially in government where security and audit trails are paramount.

“MPs and the civil service have a track record of lax practices around sharing passwords and this needs to change. MPs, like many senior managers, have teams around them that act as a bubble of trust. Interns are trusted to handle their email and social media accounts on a daily basis.

He added: “This usually works well until, eventually, the bubble bursts, and previously trusted personnel make mistakes or go rogue.

“Edward Snowden was the greatest example of this, with his NSA colleagues trusting him with their passwords, leading to the biggest breach in security the world has ever seen.”

The row over password sharing comes as a Cabinet Office inquiry examines claims pornography was found on a computer in Green’s parliamentary office.

He denies watching or downloading pornography on his computer.