Interim Biometrics Commissioner announced
The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention has appointed Francesca Whitelaw KC as the interim Biometrics Commissioner.
The role of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner has been vacant since mid-August 2024, when Tony Eastaugh stepped down. He had been appointed to the role in ‘a time-limited capacity’ to help deliver the closure of the office on commencement of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.
The Government is actively recruiting the next permanent Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, through open competition.
While this campaign is ongoing, the minister has decided to appoint Ms Whitelaw on an interim basis.
She will undertake the casework functions of the Biometrics Commissioner set out under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, providing oversight of National Security Determinations and applications made under section 63G PACE by the police.
Ms Whitelaw was appointed King’s Counsel in 2023 and is a leading specialist in public law, police, government, information law and human rights. She has expertise in biometrics and national security, working on several inquiries and inquests.
She will take up her post from Tuesday (July 1), for a period of up to six months, until the new Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner is appointed.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner post will also remain vacant until this point.