LONDON — Three judges in the United Kingdom have been fired for watching pornography on court computers, officials said Tuesday.

The U.K.'s Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said that while the material was not illegal, the judges' actions nevertheless constituted an "inexcusable misuse of their judicial I.T. accounts" and was "wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder."

The office — which oversees the personal conduct of British court officials — said in a statement that the three were removed from office following an investigation into allegations the judges "viewed pornographic material on judicial I.T. equipment in their offices." It named the judges as Timothy Bowles, Warren Grant and Peter Bullock.

A fourth judge, Andrew Maw, was also found to have viewed similar material on his professional computer account and would also have been removed from office "had he not resigned before the conclusion of the disciplinary process," the statement said. According to the statement, the four judges were not linked.

- Alexander Smith