Julie Etchingham
Julie Etchingham is a newsreader, presenter and broadcast journalist with over three decades of experience working across the BBC, Sky News and ITV. She has chaired general election leaders’ debates, presented and reported on US Presidential elections, and co-presented coverage of major royal weddings, Jubilees and funerals. Julie has also led live coverage of developing news stories including the 7/7 bombings in London and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Julie has hosted awards ceremonies and moderated international conferences, including one at the Vatican with Pope Francis.
Professor Kevin Fong
Dr Kevin Fong OBE has worked as a doctor with NASA and currently flies as part of a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) crew in the UK. As of March 2020, Kevin was seconded to NHS England COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness Resilience & Response team. As a frontline emergency physician, his expertise lies in understanding teamwork, risk management and decision making under extreme pressure.
With degrees in astrophysics, medicine and engineering, he is also something of a renaissance man. Having worked with NASA’s human space flight programme in Houston, Kevin also has a unique perspective on science, technology, exploration and the limits of the human body which he has brought to life in his incredible talks inspiring a global audience at both public and corporate events. In 2015, he delivered the prestigious Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.
Kevin has also brought his expertise to both television and radio. He co-presented Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes and Operation Goldrush with Dan Snow. He wrote and presented Space Shuttle: The Final Mission, To Boldly Go and several Horizon programmes including We Need to Talk about Death, Cyber Attack, Back from the Dead and How to Avoid Mistakes in Surgery. He presented Channel 4’s Extreme A&E and his radio documentaries include Game Changer: Fortnite on 4 and Trauma Medicine: The Fight for Life on BBC Radio 4.
Most recently, Kevin hosted the worldwide hit podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon produced by Andrew Luck-Baker and Rami Tzabar for BBC World Service. The podcast won Best Factual Podcast 2019 at the AIB Awards, sharing the prize with Hans Zimmer who composed original music for the series, and Silver in the Audio category at the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards. World Service has an audio audience of over 173 million listeners worldwide.
As an author, Kevin has written Extremes which won an American Association for the Advancement of Science Award (AAAS) in 2015. He was awarded an OBE for services to science, medicine and healthcare in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2019.
Donna Jones
Donna Jones was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on 6 May 2021, achieving 312,993 of the votes cast across the two counties, and officially took up post on Thursday 13 May after taking the Oath of Office. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary is one of the largest police force areas in the country.
Donna was the youngest member of the judiciary in England and Wales when she was appointed to the South East Hampshire (Magistrates) Bench in October 2005. She served as a bench chair for 16 years until she was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner. This has helped her develop a strong background in criminal justice. From 2014-2018 Donna was the first woman to be elected the Leader of Portsmouth City council in Hampshire, presiding over a £780million budget. During this time she received national recognition for the commercial approach she brought to the running of the city council, generating millions of pounds of income each year. She has a thorough understanding of managing public sector finances; of generating new income and removing wastage from outdated contracts ensuring your taxes are spent wisely.
As well as being the PCC for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Donna previously led on the national Victims and Serious Organised Crime portfolios for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, before taking up the role of the Chair in July 2023.
Donna is Hampshire born and bred. Her professional background is in banking. She is married with two sons.
David Lloyd
David Lloyd has been Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire since 2012. His focus has been on delivering effective and efficient policing, supporting victims, promoting partnership working and delivering on the public’s priorities.
He believes in evidence-based policing and is studying a postgraduate degree in Criminology at the University of Cambridge to develop his thoughts on this.
David is recognised for the pioneering work he has done in developing and improving support services for victims of crime. The Beacon Victim Service, which he launched, has received national recognition.
In addition, he has campaigned for reform of the wider criminal justice system, arguing that the agencies involved need to work more closely together to provide a better service to the public and in particular to the victims of crime. He chairs the Hertfordshire Criminal Justice Board and is using that position to encourage collaboration and develop a change programme.
At national level, David Lloyd has been a leading member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners since its foundation and served both as a board member and chairman of the organisation. He has been an influential participant in many of the key national debates in the public safety arena and has served on a range of bodies including the government’s Serious Violence Taskforce.
He is currently a member of the National Criminal Justice Board and is a past chair of the Police Reform and Transformation Board.
At national level, David Lloyd has been a leading member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners since its foundation and served both as a board member and chairman of the organisation. He has been an influential participant in many of the key national debates in the public safety arena and has served on a range of bodies including the government’s Serious Violence Taskforce.
He is currently a member of the National Criminal Justice Board and is a past chair of the Police Reform and Transformation Board.
Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan
Appointed Chief Constable of South Wales Police in 2020 after beginning his policing career in 1996 in North Wales Police. In 2016 he transferred to South Wales Police as Assistant Chief Constable with responsibility for Specialist Operations, including Professional Standards, Criminal Justice, Operational Planning and the Public Service Centre. In December 2017 he took responsibility for the Territorial Policing portfolio including leading on Neighbourhood and Response Policing and remained as Head of this portfolio until he was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2019.
In addition to his Force responsibilities, Jeremy is the UK Police lead for Biometrics, supporting the national development and use of facial recognition technology by the police forces of England and Wales.
He is also the NPCC Lead on Police Pay & Conditions of Service and has recently been appointed NPCC Vice Chair. Jeremy is the Welsh lead for gender equality and was recognised for his work in this area by the International Association of Women in Policing in 2019 with the HeForShe award and in 2022, he took over the role of national lead for HeforShe. He has a strong track record in leading on Equalities and in 2019 was recognised with a Leading Wales Award – Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion.
A fluent Welsh speaker, Jeremy was appointed to the Gorsedd Cymru in 2019 for services to the Welsh language which reflects his work within South Wales Police in promoting the use of Welsh and improving the service the force provides to individuals within Welsh speaking communities.
Alison Lowe OBE
Alison Lowe is the Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime in West Yorkshire. She started her role in July 2021 and was appointed by the new Metro Mayor, Tracy Brabin, because of her extensive voluntary sector, political and policing experience over a 30+ year period.
Alison worked in the Third Sector for more than 30 years, most recently as Chief Executive of Touchstone, a Mental Health Charity working across West Yorkshire. Touchstone work with and for people that are affected by mental health problems, and they specialise in working with people from different cultural backgrounds. Touchstone have received multiple awards for their work in inclusion and diversity, including the number 1 spot in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 UK Top 50 Most Inclusive Employers Award. They have been a Stonewall Top 100 LGBT-Friendly Employer since 2014 and are again a 3 Star Extraordinary Sunday Times Best Company to work for in 2021. Additionally, Touchstone were judged to be Investors in People Platinum once again at their latest re-assessment (July 2021).
Alison has been involved in local government for 29 years and was a councillor with the Labour Party. Alison was also the Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, the body that scrutinises the performance of the Police and Crime Commissioner and represents the interests of all the 2.3 million people across West Yorkshire. Alison was the Deputy Lord Mayor of Leeds in 2003-4 and was made an Honorary Alderwoman of the city in 2020. In this role, Alison was asked to review Leeds statues following the BLM protests. Alison is a Non-Executive Director with Leeds Community Health NHS Trust. Over the years, Alison has been a well-known campaigner on equal rights and chaired the Leeds Domestic Violence Forum that raises awareness of domestic violence against women and children by known men for over 25 years.
Alison Lowe holds an MA in Medieval Studies from Leeds University and a BA in History and was given an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2022. She was also awarded an OBE in the January 2022 Queen’s Honours List. Alison has 2 grown up children, Adam and Rosy and grandchildren Mae and Oscar.
Rachel Tuffin OBE, College of Policing, Director, What Works
Rachel leads and is the founder of the College’s work as the national What Works Centre for Crime Reduction. She has responsibility for creating and sharing knowledge and good practice across policing. She previously led knowledge and research teams in the Home Office and National Policing Improvement Agency. She has published on issues ranging from neighbourhood policing, career progression and leadership to race hate, recruitment and flexible working.
Rachel has been seconded to several policing reviews and to a Home Office task force sent to evacuate Kosovan refugees. She started out as a researcher in the University of East London, and prior to that worked as a trainer, interpreter and course director in Northern France. Her OBE was awarded in 2013 for services to policing, championing evidence-based policing.
Professor Paul Taylor
Professor Paul Taylor became the first Police Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) on 1 May 2021, with a remit to connect science and technology expertise both in the UK and globally to keep policing at the forefront of best practice. The role of the Police CSA will help guide critical strategies, policies and decisions, helping police to protect millions of people.
Paul is Professor of Psychology at Lancaster University, Professor of Human Interaction at the University of Twente, and founding director of the UK Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST). Established in 2015, CREST has brought together over 140 researchers from 35 universities and SMEs to deliver research that informs policy and practice in security and policing.
Over his career Professor Taylor has contributed science advice to a number of high-profile police investigations in the UK and overseas. In 2005 he received a Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Commendation for his contributions.
Mark Williams-Thomas
Mark is a multi-award-winning investigative reporter and amongst his awards has: two Royal Television Society, a Broadcasting Press Guild and an acclaimed International Peabody.
He is also BAFTA nominated and a BAFTA Judge. He is a former police detective who has far-reaching experience of working at the centre of high-profile investigations and undertaking major reviews.
Mark has over the last decade reported on nearly all the biggest crime stories, both in the UK and Internationally. It was Mark’s ITV investigation and programme that finally exposed Jimmy Savile as one of the nation’s worst ever paedophiles.
Mark beat the world's media to gain exclusive access to Oscar Pistorius for his programme 'Oscar Pistorius: The Interview’, which has sold worldwide and continues to be talked about. Mark teamed up with Syco and Simon Cowell to launch his own prime time ITV and Netflix crime series – ‘The Investigator’.
Mark is also an acclaimed author his book, ‘Hunting Killers’ was published by Transworld/Penguin. The book is a gripping and unflinching memoir, in which Mark will reveal how he has pieced together complex cases he has been called upon to investigate.
His most recent programmes have included: Accused of Murdering our Son: The Steven Clark story, The Ripper Speaks, Madeleine McCann: The Case Against Christian B and he is currently working on two new major investigations.
Rebecca Camber
Rebecca Camber is the Chair of the Crime Reporters Association (CRA), a group of specialist journalists covering crime and policing across print, broadcast and new media. She first joined the CRA 13 years ago and was elected Chair in 2019, becoming the first woman to lead the organisation since its inception in 1945. The award-winning journalist joined the Daily Mail 18 years ago as a general news reporter and moved onto the crime desk in 2010. In 2020 she became Crime and Security Editor, the first woman in the paper’s history to hold that role.
Professor Marion Oswald MBE
Professor Marion Oswald MBE is Professor of Law at Northumbria University and part-time senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute. She chairs the West Midlands Police and West Midlands Police Data Ethics Committee and serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. Her research focuses in particular on the role of technology in policing and national security. Recent publications include ‘Privacy Intrusion in the Age of AI: Assessing Proportionality of Automated Analysis’ published by the Alan Turing Institute, and ‘Evaluating (semi)-autonomous systems in policing and national security: a new framework based on the concept of ‘intelligence’’ published by the Association for Computing Machinery.
Richard Walker
Rich is Deloitte’s Lead Partner for AI and Data in Policing. He draws on more than 15 years of experience in supporting government and public sector organisations to drive value from their data assets. In policing specifically, Rich has led work to design and stand-up the Data Office at the Met Police, Partnered with Essex Police to develop the Analytics for Everyone Solution and worked with several forces to enable multi-agency data sharing, driving whole system approaches to tackling vulnerability. Rich has spoken regularly at national and international events on topics ranging from data privacy and ethics to the use of advanced statistical techniques such as causal inference to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic and operational decision making.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes QPM
Matt Jukes QPM is the Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing and a member of the Metropolitan Police Services’ Management Board. His work spans countering threats from hostile states, war crimes investigations, and the protection of the Royal Family, Ministers and Parliament. This has seen him oversee the response to the murder of Sir David Amess MP and the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Matt’s career began in South Yorkshire Police and he first started working in counter terrorism in 2001, going on to advise the UK law enforcement delegation to the G8 and undertaking operational duties as a CT Commander in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. Security and intelligence have been recurring themes of his career, woven into periods of territorial police command, including as the Chief Constable of South Wales Police where he championed workforce wellbeing and diversity. He is the senior lead for He4She and Gender Equality in the Met, and a champion for its LGBT+ network.
Matt is a Patron of the Police Roll of Honour Trust and Visiting Professor at Cranfield University. He is an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University and the University of Wales, Trinity St. David.
Michele Moran, Chief Executive, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
Michele is a Nurse, Midwife and Health Visitor by background and has more than 35 years' experience of front-line roles in NHS management and care.
Michele is an experienced Chief Executive and has extensive experience across most sectors in the NHS, with substantial experience in integrating systems and is an advocate for integrated care, speaking at many national conferences on collaboration in care.
Michele is Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Clinical Research Network, a Non-Executive at DHU Healthcare and an IMAS partner. Michele is committed to putting Patient’s at the heart of everything that we do and supporting staff health and wellbeing.
Michele supports the Mental Health/Learning Disabilities and Autism Collaborative lead the design of the collaboratives in Humber Coast and Vale ICB and is the Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism partner representative on the Humber and North Yorkshire integrated Care Board.
Lee Freeman KPM
Lee Freeman joined the City of London Police in 1993, having attended Kingston University, completing a BSc (Hons) Sociology.
Following a transfer to Lincolnshire Police in 1996, where he undertook several operational posts in uniform and CID at various ranks, Lee was promoted to the rank of Superintendent in 2005 and posted to Lincoln as the Superintendent (Operations).
In 2008, he was seconded to Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) as an Assistant Director where he had overall responsibility for Lincolnshire Trading Standards, Lincolnshire Drug Alcohol Action Teams, Lincolnshire Youth Offending Service and the Safer Communities teams.
In 2010, Lee was successful in promotion to Chief Superintendent and posted as Divisional Commander for South Lincolnshire. Lee also spent time as the Divisional Commander for West Division and then the Head of Local Policing, following a major restructuring programme. Lee later stepped up as the Assistant Chief Constable.
In May 2015, he fulfilled a lifelong ambition in joining his home force and being appointed as the Assistant Chief Constable for Humberside Police. In 2017, after a short spell as the Deputy Chief Constable, Lee was successful in applying for the role of Chief Constable in Humberside. With the force already in ‘special measures’, Lee led Humberside out of PPOG within 8 months before achieving Good grades across all areas in its 2018 HMICFRS Inspection later that year.
In 2019, following the unexpected departure of their Chief Constable, Lee was asked to lead Cleveland Police on an interim basis, before returning to Humberside five months later.
In 2022, Humberside Police achieved 6 Outstanding and 2 Good grades in their 2022 HMICFRS PEEL Inspection, which included achieving a national first Outstanding grade for Building and developing a workforce and encouraging an ethical, lawful and inclusive workplace
In his 10 years as a chief officer, Lee has held several NPCC portfolios, including ASB, Records Management, HMICFRS and a Director of Bluelight Commercial Ltd, as well as being a member of the management committee for Police Sport UK Sport.
On 1 August 2023 Lee was appointed as His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services and stepped down as Chief Constable of Humberside after six and a half years in post.
Lee is married, with a son and retains a strong passion for playing and watching sport in his spare time.
Chief Constable Dr Richard Lewis
Richard is the Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police having taken up the role in December, 2021. Prior to this Richard was the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police.
Richard is originally from Carmarthenshire in West Wales and joined Dyfed-Powys Police in 2000.
Richard has worked in a variety of roles in uniform and CID as well as working as the Head of the Professional Standards Department and he Chaired the Wales Counter Corruption Working Group. He served in every rank up to (and including) Deputy Chief Constable at Dyfed Powys Police.
In 2010,Richard gained a Fulbright Scholarship, a prestigious educational programme, at Pennsylvania State University where he studied Taser deployments leading to adverse incidents. The work was conducted in policing agencies as diverse as Dallas, Seattle and New York Police Departments. The majority of his time in the United States was spent working with the Emergency Service Unit of NYPD, based in Brooklyn.
Richard has also guest edited the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 and served as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Richard holds two National Police Chiefs’ Council portfolios, leading on Drugs and Policing Performance and gained a his PhD with Bath Spa University studying change management.
Alison Cope
Alison Cope is the mother of Joshua Ribera who was murdered in 2013.
She now works tirelessly to help prevent youth violence by sharing her son’s unique life and death story to help educate young people on the realties and consequences of youth violence. Her powerful presentations convey: the importance of prevention, the emotive realisation of how choices affect loved ones and how young people retain hope for the future.
Alison has featured on BBC The One show, Good Morning Britain and This Morning discussing her work and the impact of knife crime.
Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner
Simon Foster was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands on 6 May 2021. He has lived, worked and brought his family up in the West Midlands for 37 years.
Simon’s career in the law started 43 years ago and he practised as a legal aid solicitor for 35 years. He has worked in a community law centre and in private practice. He was a partner in a legal aid law firm for 22 years.
He specialised in Housing and Public Law. He represented people at risk of eviction from their homes, people living in poor housing conditions and the homeless.
Andy Cooke QPM, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary
Andy Cooke joined Merseyside Police in 1985 having obtained an Honours Degree in Politics from Nottingham University. He served as a Detective at every rank.
Throughout his career, Andy has had numerous roles including being in charge of the Robbery Squad and Target Operations at the Major Crime Unit. He became the first Commander of the nationally recognised ‘Matrix’ team, responsible for tackling gun and gang enabled crime.
During his time as Area Commander for South Liverpool, Andy was instrumental in significantly reducing crime, antisocial behaviour and disorder and South Liverpool became one of the highest performing Basic Command Units in the country.
In 2008, Andy was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary where he held the roles of ACC Specialist Operations and ACC Territorial Operations. He returned to Merseyside in 2012, was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2013 and in 2016 he was appointed Chief Constable. During this time, Andy led the biggest reorganisation in Merseyside Police’s 40 year history. Whilst he was Chief, the Force was graded as the highest performing metropolitan Force by HMICFRS.
Nationally, Andy held some of the highest risk portfolios in Policing. In addition to leading the creation of the United Kingdom Protected Persons Service, he was the national policing lead for serious organised crime and national lead for crime.
Andy has also been commended on 10 occasions and in 2014 was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of the Merseyside Lieutenancy and an Adjunct Professor within the School of Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University.
He is married with twin daughters. He has a passion for football and rugby league and is chair of the British Police Rugby League Association. You can follow Andy on Twitter (Twitter link).
Andy was appointed as HM Inspector of Constabulary and HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services in April 2021 where he was the HMI for Northern England and the SRO for PEEL Inspection.
On 1 April 2022 Andy was appointed as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and HM Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services.
Chief Constable Andy Marsh QPM
Chief Constable Andy Marsh QPM joined the College of Policing as Chief Executive Officer in 2021. He is the longest serving Chief Constable in England and Wales and has a breadth of experience to draw from as the leader of policing’s professional body. Positioning the College as a relevant, dynamic, and connected system leader he is driving policing improvement based on the evidence of what works, by delivering betters standards and improving leadership.
Andy’s police career started in 1987 as a constable in Avon and Somerset Police. After operational and detective roles at various ranks, he went on to lead Hampshire and, latterly, Avon and Somerset, as Chief Constable.
He oversaw large-scale transformation at Hampshire, leading the force to be recognised as one of the best value for money nationally.
In Avon and Somerset, he led the internationally acclaimed approach to data by using advanced predictive analytics and visualisation to manage demand in tandem with equipping officers and staff with the latest technology. This enabled the Force to be recognised as one of the most efficient and effective.
Andy played a significant role as the UK's National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for body worn video where he pioneered the increased use of this vital technology.
Andy was responsible for the NPCC International Coordination portfolio for six years, leading and advising on police modernisation programmes globally.
In 2018, he was awarded a Queen's Police Medal, and in the same year he was recognised by Women of the Future in its list of '50 Kind Leaders'.
He is married with two daughters and enjoys fly fishing, hill walking, and rowing.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe OBE
Louisa Rolfe has over 30 years’ experience in policing working for a number of police forces across the country. In June 2020 she joined the Metropolitan Police Service as Assistant Commissioner where she now heads Frontline Policing with responsibility for Boroughs and Specialist Crime. She was appointed to lead on the MPS’s response to Violence against Women and Girls and is the MPS Talent lead.
Louisa Rolfe has been the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) lead for Domestic Abuse since 2013. She led the UK police response to HMIC’s report Everyone’s Business – focused on improving the response to domestic abuse – urging forces to prioritise domestic abuse and securing substantial improvements across the service. Her work in this area was recognised in the 2019 New Year’s Honours being awarded an OBE. Louisa Rolfe has now taken on the role of the NPCC Lead for National Crime Coordination Committee.
Chief Constable Lauren Poultney
Lauren was appointed as Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police in May 2021.
Her policing career began in 1998 when she joined Humberside Police, where she worked in a variety of uniformed and detective roles prior to joining South Yorkshire as an Assistant Chief Constable in April 2017. Lauren first held the Business Change and Innovation portfolio and then the Crime portfolio before being appointed as Deputy Chief Constable.
From 2017-2020, Lauren was the Senior Responsible Officer for the national Problem Solving and Reduction Programme. She is now the NPCC Portfolio Lead for Problem Solving and also for Counter-Corruption.
Lauren has a BA (hons) degree in Communication Studies with Community and Race Relations, and an MSc in Police Leadership and Management Studies. She sits on the Partnership Advisory Review Body of the Open University Centre for Police Research and Learning, on the Editorial Board for the Police Journal (Sage Publications).
Milo Comerford
Milo Comerford is Head of Policy & Research, Counter Extremism, at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, leading ISD’s work developing innovative research approaches and policy responses to extremism. Alongside regularly briefing senior decision makers around the world on online extremism threats, Milo has led major counter extremism policy and research partnerships with governments across Europe, North America and Australasia. He was previously Senior Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, where he led major research projects on Salafi-jihadi propaganda, international educational responses to extremism, and the transnational far right. Milo frequently appears in international media including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Sky News. He is an advisory board member of the US Prevention Practitioners Network and is on Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council.
Graham Downing MA - Shooting Consultant
Graham is Secretary to the British Shooting Sports Council, the umbrella body which brings together Britain’s major shooting associations to achieve consensus positions on political and legislative issues affecting the shooting sports.
With over 50 years of practical experience in the use of shotguns and rifles in all sporting shooting, Graham has written seven books on shooting and deer stalking, is a regular contributor to Shooting Times and The Field, and is editor of ‘Deer’, the quarterly journal of the British Deer Society. A former member of DEFRA Advisory Committees on lead ammunition and the hunting of wild birds in severe weather, and of Home Office working groups on Medical Evidence and Firearms Fees, he has given oral evidence to House of Commons committees on animal welfare and firearms controls. He is experienced in firearms legislation at international level, including the United Nations, and is currently President of the World Forum on Shooting Activities.
Graham and his wife have a small farm in Suffolk which is managed for wildlife conservation. He is the Suffolk county Branch President of the Country Land and Business Association.
Alison Hernandez
Alison Hernandez is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. She was elected to office in 2016 and again in 2021. Her Police and Crime Plan prioritises activity to reduce drugs, antisocial behaviour, violence and road casualties. She has embarked on a programme of reopening police enquiry offices to support a neighbourhood policing model. She is the Association of Police and Crime Commissioner lead for Serious and Organised Crime. Before running for office she had a successful career in business improvement. She lives in Torquay with her husband and daughter.
Nick Hunt
Nick Hunt is a senior civil servant and currently Head of Firearms Policy Unit in the Home Office. He has been in this post since October 2021, and he is leading the programme of reforms to firearms controls. Nick was previously the Secretary to the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel from December 2019 until taking up his current post. The panel looked into the events around the murder in 1987 of the private investigator, Daniel Morgan, and the subsequent police investigations. As Secretary he advised the independent panel and oversaw the report that it published in June 2021. Nick has also held the post of Head of Serious Violence Unit in the Home Office, and in this post, he supported Home Secretaries to publish the Serious Violence Strategy in 2018 and to take action to tackle county lines, knife crime and youth violence. Prior to moving to the Home Office, Nick was Director of Strategy and Policy in the Crown Prosecution Service from 2010 to 2014, and he had earlier in his career worked in a range of posts in the Department of Constitutional Affairs, the Lord Chancellors Department, and the Home Office, where he started his civil service career.
Chief Constable Debbie Tedds
Debbie grew up in Leamington Spa and joined Warwickshire Police in March 1989. She has served across Warwickshire in a variety of roles and departments and served in every rank from Constable to Chief Constable. Commencing her career within the south of the County, she worked on patrol and a variety of investigative roles, being promoted to Detective Sergeant in 2002.
Debbie progressed through the ranks, being the first female Warwickshire officer to achieve the rank of Detective Inspector working within Reactive CID, Proactive CID and Intelligence. As a Detective Chief Inspector, she set up the first Protecting Vulnerable Persons unit (PVP) and developed and implemented the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences into Warwickshire, before being promoted to Superintendent in 2009 to head up the then Judicial Services Department and having responsibility for custody and criminal justice. She was one of the founder members of Senior Women in Policing for Warwickshire and was nominated and commended for a Continued Excellence in Performance Award presented by the British Association for Women in Policing.
Debbie was seconded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary (HMICFRS) in 2011 as a Specialist Staff Officer leading on Vulnerability and, in particular, Child Protection. Following this role, she returned to Warwickshire Police and was appointed as the first Policing Area Commander for South Warwickshire as part of the newly formed Strategic Alliance with West Mercia Police, with accountability for policing across the districts of Warwick and Stratford upon Avon.
In 2015 she was promoted as Chief Superintendent and performed roles across the former alliance with West Mercia Police, heading up the Assurance and Service Improvement function and then as Head of Crime and Operations with accountability across West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police. Having been successful at the Senior Police National Assessment Centre (SPNAC) in November 2018, she graduated from the Strategic Command Course in March 2019 as the first Warwickshire female officer to do so.
Debbie was appointed as Assistant Chief Constable for Protective Services and Professional Services May 2019 whilst also leading the implementation of the force’s Evolve Change programme, transitioning services out of the Strategic Alliance. In February 2021 she was appointed as the force’s Temporary Deputy Chief Constable and was successful on the 1st July 2021 in becoming the first female Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police in its 164 year history.
Debbie holds the National portfolios on behalf of Policing (NPCC) for Vetting and Firearms Licensing and Explosives and a variety of regional responsibilities.
She is incredibly proud to be the Chief Constable of Warwickshire, which is where she was born and grew up, and also having the privilege of leading such a talented workforce. She is a keen netball player and states she makes up her lack of talent with her enthusiasm and commitment whilst on court.
She is an animal lover and has many pets, including dogs, cats, horses, sheep and chickens and spends many hours training her dogs in agility and competing all over the country, the highlight being competing at Discover Dogs and the world famous Crufts dog show.
Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blythe
Maggie has extensive operational experience of working in and managing criminal justice services over 30 years, working primarily across London, Oxfordshire and Hampshire. She has specialist knowledge of public protection working as a practitioner and manager in probation and prisons, youth justice and child protection. During 2000- 2016 she held national roles with the Youth Justice Board and the Parole Board for England and Wales.
In 2016 Maggie joined policing as an operational Superintendent and district commander with responsibility for Portsmouth City. After completing the National Police Strategic Command Course in 2019 she held the role of Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing which included oversight of public protection services across Wiltshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
In 2021 Maggie was appointed as the national VAWG Coordinator for the National Police Chiefs Council with oversight of the national policing response to violence against women and girls including portfolio lead for Violence and Public Protection. In November 2023 she became the new DCEO (DCC) of the national College of Policing.
Catherine Hinwood OBE
Catherine is NHS England’s senior Lead for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. She leads an ambitious programme of work to improve the way the NHS responds to domestic abuse and sexual violence for both patients and staff. The programme considers these crimes through a public health lens, looking at prevention, early intervention and resulting health inequalities, as well as improving support for victims. Her team recently led on the production of the healthcare system’s first organisational charter on sexual safety of staff.
Catherine was formerly a Deputy Director in the Family and Criminal Justice Policy Directorate in the Ministry of Justice, heading the Victim and Witness Policy Unit. She was responsible for most of the government policy relating to victims of crime in England and Wales, and a £140 million per annum budget for victim and witness services. Catherine led the government response to Covid for victims and witnesses. Catherine was also appointed ‘Gender Champion’ for the Ministry of Justice in May 2016, providing visible leadership to around 80,000 staff on achieving gender equality in the workplace.
Catherine is a keen supporter of women and the arts and is a member of Clean Break Theatre Company’s Development Committee.
Catherine started her legal career at the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2001. She relocated to London to work at the Refugee Legal Centre, where she represented victims of trafficking, sexual violence and torture. Catherine then joined the Ministry of Justice, working as a lawyer before moving into the Senior Civil Service to work on policy and strategy.
Figen Murray OBE
Figen Murray is the mother of Martyn Hett, who at 29 years of age was tragically killed alongside 21 others at the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in May 2017.
Since the Manchester Arena attack, Figen has been working with the Government and the security industry to make the tangible changes that can help ensure no other family has to go through what hers has. She is the force behind Martyn’s Law, a legislation requiring publicly accessible locations to improve security against the threat of terrorism. Her ambitions to better understand counter terrorism saw her achieve a distinction in a counter terrorism master’s degree from the University of Central Lancashire.
Figen’s dedication and work in counter terrorism saw her awarded an OBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List.
Bethan Page-Jones
Bethan has spent over 15 years working in policing. A civil servant who’s career has spanned spending reviews, bill management, strategy roles and private office work, she was seconded to the National Policing Improvement Agency where she headed up work on value for money in policing. Following that she spent many years in HMICFRS, inspecting police efficiency, police effectiveness and the police response to domestic abuse, returning to the Home Office to work in policing policy. At the moment her role is focused on ensuring the Home Office is commissioning the capabilities needed to deliver its policing, public protection and crime reduction agenda.
Patrick Madden
Patrick Madden joined Axon in 2018. As SVP & Head of TASER, he manages Axon’s TASER Conducted Energy Device (CED) business, innovating toward a new era in less-lethal technology for use in public safety around the world.
Prior to joining Axon, Patrick spent ~3.5 years at McKinsey & Co. where he was an Engagement Manager in the Strategy & Corporate Finance practice and specialized in corporate restructuring in the renewable energy space & private equity/ venture capital transaction & integration support. Patrick served ~9 years in the United States Marine Corps as an Infantry & Force Reconnaissance officer, where he completed deployments across Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa in support of the Global War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. He earned numerous medals & awards for his service, to include the Navy and Marine Corp Commendation Medal w/ Combat Valor Device and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. His real-world experiences throughout his service has lent to his leadership and commitment in delivering Axon’s mission to protect life.
Patrick holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Finance from Florida State University.
Andy Doran
Having served 16 years as a police officer, in two police forces, Andy joined Salesforce as an Enterprise Account Executive in December 2021. Andy now sits within the Public Sector Team in Salesforce and holds accounts for police and fire services across the UK. Andy is also a proud member of techUK Justice and Emergency Service Management Committee.
Andy left Lancashire Constabulary as the Chief Inspector lead for Digital and Innovation. Whilst in this role, Andy led a multi-skilled team to deliver the Constabulary’s ambitious Digital and Innovation strategy.
Projects that Andy led included:
- Robotics Process Automation Centre of Excellence
- Digital Mobility • Lancashire’s National Enabling Programme
- Hotspot policing
- Body Worn Video
- Digital Evidence Management
- Introduced the first Contact Management voice analytics platform in world policing
Andy has a proven track record of delivering complex and sustainable change and puts the citizen at the heart of transformation. Since joining Salesforce, Andy has led the Citizen Engagement capability and has worked across policing to help transform how victims and citizens are supported with the clear aim of helping our police service improve trust and confidence within their communities. Recently, Andy has become a sworn officer again taking on the Special Superintendent role within Cheshire's Special Constabulary.
Chief Constable Paul Anderson
Chief Constable Paul Anderson has been a police officer for 31 years, starting his career in Tilbury, Essex. He has experience across the ranks, from community and investigative posts, through to specialist operations. Paul is a graduate of London University Southbank with a Master’s Degree. Married with two children; he is also a keen and active sportsman and coach, with an interest in staff engagement and wellbeing.
Paul has experience in organised crime, community cohesion and command of specialist operations around firearms and public order, as well as leading performance and partnerships portfolios. He is an experienced Gold Commander for Firearms, Public Order and CBRN and is accredited as a multi-agency Strategic Commander, where he has led a number of significant high profile policing operations. He also has previous experience at Silver and Bronze levels within these areas, with UK wide experience.
Appointed as Commander for Tayside Division (Police Scotland) in 2015, Paul led over 1,100 officers and staff across the region. During 2018 he held the position of Assistant Chief Constable, leading operational policing for the East of Scotland, with additional responsibility for National Criminal Justice and was also operational lead for several Specialist Operations.
Paul became Chief Constable of Humberside Police in 2023 having previously served as the Deputy Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable (Local Policing). As Chief Constable he will continue to have responsibility for Leadership, Development and Wellbeing.
Rt Hon Chris Philp MP
Chris Philp was appointed Minister of State in the Home Office on 26 October 2022.
He was Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office between 14 October 2022 and 25 October 2022. He was previously appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 6 September 2022 to 14 October 2022.
He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport between 17 September 2021 and 7 July 2022.
He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice from 13 February 2020 to 16 September 2021.
Before that, he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice from 10 September 2019 to 18 December 2019 and Minister for London at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 18 December 2019 to 13 February 2020.
Sir John Saunders
Sir John Saunders, having acted as the Coroner responsible for conducting the Inquests arising from the deaths in the Manchester Arena terror attack on 22 May 2017, was appointed to chair the Manchester Arena Inquiry by the Home Secretary in October 2019.
Sir John is a retired High Court judge. He was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1972, and was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1991. He was appointed as a Recorder in 1990, and became a Senior Circuit Judge and the Recorder of Birmingham in 2004. In 2007 he was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division. He was Presiding Judge on the South Eastern Circuit from 2009–2012.
Sir John has significant experience trying terrorism cases as the Recorder of Birmingham and as the Presiding Judge on the South Eastern Circuit from 2009 to 2012. He has presided over a number of other high profile cases relating to phone-hacking, fraudulent expense claims by Members of Parliament and espionage.
He was a member of the Sentencing Council from 2013 to 2016 and is a member of the Parole Board.
Christian Ashwell
Christian Ashwell is the Head of Threat for Criminal Use of Firearms and he has worked in law enforcement for 33 years, that last 17 in the national agency responsible for tackling serious and organised crime (SOCA and now NCA). He has worked on numerous threats during that time, including Fraud, Drugs and Child Sexual Abuse (CEOP) predominantly in intelligence roles. He also seconded to the Cabinet Office and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review team in 2015.
Dr Rick Muir
Dr Rick Muir is Director of the Police Foundation, the UK’s independent policing think tank. He has led the Foundation since 2015 and oversaw its work on the Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales. He was previously Associate Director at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), leading the Institute’s research on public service reform, including policing and criminal justice. He has a D Phil in Politics from the University of Oxford. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Northumbria University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). He was previously a local councillor in both Oxford and Hackney.
Chief Constable Gavin Stephens QPM
Gavin was elected to the Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in 2022 and took up the role in April 2023, having served in Surrey Police from Constable to Chief Constable. A
s Chair of NPCC Gavin is responsible for ensuring strong co-ordination and collaboration across UK Policing, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. Policing practices across the UK are held together by strong principles and values, which are rooted in policing by consent. Working together with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the College of Policing, His Majesty’s Inspectorate, the National Crime Agency, and many other public and voluntary bodies, Gavin ensures NPCC contributes to a shared vision of achieving the must trusted and engaged policing service in the world, by making communities safer and stronger.
Gavin is the Senior Responsible Officer for the national Police Race Action Plan. He is a Director of BlueLight Commercial and Police Digital Services. He chairs the Boards of the Criminal Records Office, and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives. He is a trustee of the charity Police Care UK, and chairs the Board of Trustees for Police Arboretum Memorial Trust. He is a patron of the Police Mutual Assurance Society.
In his former role as Chief Constable of Surrey, Gavin was chair of the NPCC Finance Coordination Committee and NPCC Communications Advisory Group. Prior to that he was NPCC lead for Neighbourhood Policing and chaired the committee to produce the College of Policing Guidelines on Modernising Neighbourhood Policing.
Born and bred in Hartlepool on the North East coast, Gavin studied engineering and management studies at the University of Cambridge and worked for GEC Marconi Research as a sponsored student. Upon graduation he joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary, then transferred to Surrey Police in 1996. He worked across a wide variety of roles including Head of Serious & Organised Crime, Professional Standards, and often returned to his passion of Neighbourhood Policing.
Abigail Collier
Abigail is head of communications in the national security communications team in the UK Cabinet Office. She specialises in countering state threats, including countering disinformation and information manipulation, and has a background in Russian and east european studies. Abigail led the UK Government's communications response to the war in Ukraine, working across departments and with international allies and partners to coordinate messaging, communications activity and contingency planning. Before joining government, Abigail worked in the public and charities sectors in communications and strategy roles ranging from serving as an organisation spokesperson to running million-pound communications and engagement programmes. An alumna of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, part of UCL, Abigail can operate in multiple languages, including Russian, and conducted in-depth study of how extremist and nationalist organisations use language to attract, influence and recruit followers.
Festus Akinbusoye
Festus Akinbusoye was elected as Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner on 6 May 2021.
He was born in Nigeria and migrated to the United Kingdom aged 13, where he resided with his parents and twin sister on a Council Estate in East London. On completing his college education, Festus studied for a Bachelors Degree in Business, a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations and a Masters Degree in International Studies and Diplomacy from the University of London.
At age 16, Festus worked on a construction site during school holidays and ran a business as well. The business failed and he would go on to start-up two others by the time he graduated from university. This business, with the support of the Prince’s Trust, grew from employing four employees to 60 in ten years. He remains a Director of this company.
Festus stood as a Parliamentary candidate at the 2015 General Election, is a former Parish Councillor and Chairman of a local political association. He has previously worked as Senior Parliamentary Assistant to Members of Parliament and Government Ministers. Prior to his election, Festus volunteered as mentor to young offenders in prison, served on Board of Governors at a Further Education College with responsibility for the Offender Learning and Skills Service portfolio, and he also served on the Board of Directors of a YMCA where he used to live as a 23 year old. Festus also served as a Special Constable with Bedfordshire Police, having frontline policing responsibilities and duties.
As Police and Crime Commissioner, Festus currently serves as Association of Police and Crime Commissioner portfolio lead for Crime Prevention, and was joint portfolio lead for International and Strategic Policing. Some of his key areas of interest include proactive, problem solving community based policing, early intervention for crime prevention, ethics and standards in policing, placing victims at heart of policing priorities and use of technological innovation to improve public access.
Festus is a very proud dad to his children.
Lisa Townsend
I’m Lisa and I have lived in Surrey for over 12 years with my husband Ben and our two cats.
I was elected in 2021 to be the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey. It's a great honour to represent local residents.
I love where we live, and I want our county to be as safe, secure, and enjoyable as possible for all residents. I know the importance of putting local people and their priorities at the heart of policing. My priorities which feed in to my Police and Crime Plan, are based on the issues residents across the county have repeatedly raised with me, and include: tackling anti-social behaviour, improving visible policing, cracking down on county lines, improving road safety and enforcement, setting local policing priorities, and holding the police to account. I am also committed to tackling violence against women and improving protection for children.
I have experience working in both the public and private sector. Throughout my career I have managed diverse teams and multi-million-pound budgets. I have two law degrees and, following university, spent over ten years in Parliament where I worked for a number of MPs, representing and supporting residents. Whilst there I also worked alongside charities including Mind and Rethink, as well as the Centre for Mental Health, supporting the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Mental Health in developing policies to put forward to government to improve mental health provision, including parity of esteem.
Whilst I do not have a background in policing - Surrey Police are quite rightly the experts in operational policing - I bring value to the police and the residents of Surrey through my proven track record of holding people of all levels to account and experience in community campaigning, communications, mentoring and management. Through my wider volunteering and working background, I have developed good links outside of Surrey, including with PCCs in other forces whose support will be invaluable, as well as key representatives and officials in Westminster.
Stephen Parkinson
Stephen Parkinson is the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was appointed by the Attorney General and took up post on 1 November 2023.
Stephen studied law at University College London, before qualifying as a Barrister in 1980 and as a Solicitor in 2005.
He began his legal career in 1984 as a junior prosecutor at the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which became the CPS in 1986. He progressed to Assistant Branch Crown Prosecutor roles and later established and led the CPS’ International Co-operation Unit.
Stephen subsequently held roles across Government, including positions in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, where he was responsible for most of the Government’s regulatory litigation, and the Department of Trade and Industry, where he headed a team providing legal advice in live company investigations. For four years from 1999, Stephen was Deputy Head of the Attorney General’s Office.
For the past 20 years, Stephen has been a practising defence lawyer. He became Head of Criminal Practice at the law firm Kingsley Napley in 2006, going on to become Senior Partner at the firm in 2018. Representing a range of clients, Stephen developed an extensive practice advising on, or undertaking, investigations for organisations, companies, and individuals.
Assistant Commissioner Pippa Mills
Pippa Mills began her policing career in the Metropolitan Police Service in 1996, working in Central and East London as her career developed. Having transferred to Essex Police as a chief officer in 2017, Pippa led the force and partnership response to Operation Melrose when the bodies of 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a lorry trailer in October 2019.
Pippa commenced as the first female Chief Constable in West Mercia Police in September 2021. She ensured a force focus on providing a quality policing service and protecting people from harm, whilst working in partnership to ensure less crime was committed and more crimes were solved.
Pippa returned to the Metropolitan Police Service in October 2023 as an Assistant Commissioner, leading on Trust and Legitimacy.
At a national level, she holds the position of NPCC lead for Police Dogs and chairs the NPCC Communications Advisory Group. Outside work Pippa enjoys spending time with her two sons, her two dogs and pursuing hobbies that include travel and cycling.
Mark Shelford
PCC Mark Shelford spent over 30 years as an Army Officer and served alongside police across the globe, gaining an understanding of their role and sharing the risks they faced. As a result, Mark has a good understanding of service life and the pressures those protecting communities and people face.
Following his military service, Mark became Deputy Leader of Bath and North East Somerset council and also sat on the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel.
In addition to Mark’s role as Police and Crime Commission of Avon and Somerset, he is the Chair of the local Criminal Justice Board, Chair of the Prisoners Building Homes Initiative, Deputy Chair of the South West Regional Reducing Reoffending Board, APCC Chair of the Economic Crime Board and a Director of the South West Cyber Resilience Centre.
Jon Higham
Jon is Director of Policy Development in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. He oversaw the development and delivery of Ofcom’s recent consultation on protecting people from illegal harms online. Jon has worked on online safety since 2020 and has played a central role in developing Ofcom’s approach to online regulation. Prior to working on online issues, Jon spent 12 years working in a variety of regulatory policy roles across Ofcom focusing on a range of sectors.
Will Linden - Scottish Violence Reduction Unit: Deputy Head
Will has worked in the police for the last 20 years in Scotland, and in 2005 he joined the Violence Reduction Unit, the first public health policing unit in the World. Will was responsible for developing the research capabilities of the unit moving from traditional policing analysis to a more epidemiological/criminological research approach.
Responsible for the development of many of the successful approaches and programmes adopted by the VRU. Including the development of Homicide/Deaths Database and CIRV (the gang intervention programme Community Initiative to Reduce Violence), Injury Surveillance, Mentors in Violence Prevention, Employability/Desistence programmes, sobriety monitoring.
As the Deputy Head Will is currently responsible for the innovation, business and strategic planning of the unit, ensuring that the unit and its outputs remain forward looking and relevant to the delivery of violence reduction in Scotland and is a visiting Professor with the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde.
Robin Punt
Robin Punt worked as a BBC Correspondent, reporting and producing for TV News for 13 years from the UK, Europe, Afghanistan, Egypt, the USA and Australia. His journalism while at BBC Newsnight led to a change in the law in relation to the safeguarding of children and a cross-Whitehall review of over 2,500 private supplier contracts after he revealed that senior civil servants were being paid through their own private companies, minimising their tax liabilities.
As Director of Communications at Help for Heroes, he helped raise £300m for service personnel and veterans wounded while in the service of our Nation and established the charity among the Top Ten UK Charity brands according to YouGov for seven consecutive years. He led campaigns which resulted in 2,000 veterans coming forward to seek help with poor mental health and was responsible for the Communications for HRH Prince Harry’s (now the Duke of Sussex’s) Invictus Games UK Team in London 2014, Orlando 2016 and Toronto 2017, sitting on the Ministry of Defence UK Team Board.
Since 2019, Robin has been Head of Corporate Communications for Essex Police. He was elected Vice-Chair of the Association of Police Communicators in 2022 and is the only former journalist to be admitted to the College of Policing Executive Leadership Programme.
The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP
James Cleverly was appointed Secretary of State for the Home Department on 13 November 2023.
He was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs between 6 September 2022 and 13 November 2023.
He was Secretary of State for Education from July 2022 to September 2022.
Before that, James was Minister of State for Europe and North America in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) from February to July 2022. He was also Minister for Middle East, North Africa and North America from September 2020 to February 2022. James was first appointed as a joint Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development on 13 February 2020.
James was Minister without Portfolio from July 2019 to February 2020, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union from April 2019 to July 2019. He was first elected as the Conservative MP for Braintree in May 2015.
The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Yvette Cooper MP was appointed Shadow Home Secretary in November 2021, having previously held the role between 2011 and 2015. Before returning to this role, she served as Chair of the influential Home Affairs Select Committee.
Yvette has been the elected MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, previously Pontefract and Castleford, since 1997 and held several ministerial roles in the last Labour Government, including serving as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.