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Sponsor department
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Home Office
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Body
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Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (BSCC)
3 November 2025
Professor William Webster has been appointed as the new Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, following an open competition and in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The role had been vacant since August 2024, with Francesca Whitelaw KC serving as Interim Biometrics Commissioner since 1 July 2025.
As Commissioner, Professor Webster’s statutory function includes:
overseeing the retention, use, and destruction of DNA samples, DNA profiles, and fingerprints by police forces in England and Wales
promoting compliance with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice
Professor Webster is currently Professor of Public Policy and Management at the University of Stirling, and Director of the Centre for Research into Information Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP). He has played a significant role in shaping national policy on biometrics and surveillance.
He formally started in the role on 1 November 2025, which will last for 2 years.
Responding to the announcement, Professor Webster said:
I am delighted to have been appointed as the next Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner. Developments in new technology, around for example biometrics and artificial technology, mean that this office will play an increasingly important role in safeguarding the rights of citizens whilst contributing to keeping the UK safe and secure.
My focus will be to oversee police applications to retain biometric material and the evolution of, and adherence to, the Home Secretary’s Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.
I bring to the office over 25 years of academic experience researching the governance of surveillance, with specific expertise in the regulation and provision of surveillance cameras, surveillance ethics, oversight mechanisms and digital government.
I look forward to working with stakeholders and the office in shaping the regulatory landscape around biometrics and surveillance cameras, and in fulfilling the significant statutory roles associated with this position.
Policing and Crime Minister, Sarah Jones said:
I welcome Professor Webster’s appointment to this vital role. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the field. I look forward to working with him to ensure our use of biometrics and surveillance continues to uphold public trust, safeguard privacy, and support effective policing.
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Sponsor department
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Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office
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Wilton Park
27 October 2025
The Foreign Secretary has appointed Felix Dane to the Wilton Park Board as a Non-Executive Director. Felix Dane will start his role at Wilton Park on 1 November 2025 for a term lasting three years.
About the appointment
Wilton Park is an Executive Agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), tasked with convening networks of influence to discreetly address critical global challenges. It works to support UK foreign policy development and the international strategic priorities of His Majesty’s Government, bringing together experts, policymakers, and decision takers to solve complex global issues.
Founded in 1946 Wilton Park has established a global reputation and extensive international networks. It is a world-leading forum for discreet dialogue on international affairs. Each year, it welcomes thousands of the most influential politicians, policymakers, practitioners, academics, and private sector leaders to debate and address a wide array of international challenges and how these should be approached. Further information can be found on the
Wilton Park website.Wilton Park Non-Executive Directors are appointed by the Foreign Secretary. The appointment has been made on merit following a fair and open competition process.
About Felix Dane
Felix is a government affairs and geopolitical strategy specialist with over twenty years’ experience across Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Currently Managing Director at EUTOP Brussels, he advises corporate clients on government affairs, such as EU industrial policy and regulatory matters. Prior to this he built the UK presence for Berlin Global Advisors, guiding clients on the business implications of policy and geopolitical shifts. Felix spent a decade at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in track-two diplomacy, directing offices in the UK, Berlin HQ, Brazil, and Israel/Palestine. Earlier, he served as an APA at the European Parliament, working on EU development policy and climate mitigation. He holds a Master’s in European Studies from the London School of Economics, a BA in International Relations from Keele University, and a joint BA in Law from Heidelberg and Greifswald Universities.
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Sponsor department
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Home Office
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Domestic Homicide Review Quality Assurance Board
10 October 2025
The Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips MP, has approved the appointment of 3 new public office holders to the quality assurance (QA) board for domestic homicide reviews:
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera
Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE
Rachel Freeman
These members will join representatives from:
NHS England
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service
the Welsh government
All bring extensive expertise in domestic abuse, safeguarding and broader issues related to violence against women and girls (VAWG). The QA board will be chaired by the Deputy Director of the Home Office Interpersonal Abuse Unit.
The DHR process is underpinned by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 which provides for local areas to carry out a DHR in instances where the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect.
The Home Office amended this legislation via the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, so that going forward, a DHR is commissioned when the death has, or appears to have, resulted from domestic abuse as defined by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The legislation also changes the name of the reviews to ‘domestic abuse related death reviews’ to reflect the range of the deaths which fall within their scope. We expect to commence these provisions within the coming months.
These reviews offer a vital opportunity for national and local agencies, communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths and treat every death as preventable.
The new QA board will play a critical role in ensuring that DHRs meet the required standards for publication. This includes:
making sure they are following government guidance confirming that the DHR chair has engaged relevant agencies, organisations and family members to build a comprehensive picture ensuring that meaningful learning has been identified to help prevent future deaths.
The introduction of the new QA board has been designed to:
ensure that Community Safety Partnerships are provided with feedback in a more timely manner
improve the overall quality of DHRs
streamline the quality assurance process
Biographies
Member: Dame Jasvinder Sanghera
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera founded Karma Nirvana in 1993, the first specialist charity for victims and survivors of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) in the UK after she escaped a forced marriage at 16 and tragically lost her sister to HBA. She worked as the chief officer of the charity for 25 years before stepping down in 2018.
Jasvinder’s work has been recognised as instrumental in the creation of the UK’s first criminal offence of forced marriage in 2014. She has extensive experience in the charity sector and in combating domestic abuse. She has served as an expert witness in child, civil, and criminal proceedings and has previously chaired DHRs. She also held a position on the Independent Safeguarding Board for the Church of England and chaired the Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership.
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 and promoted to Dame Commander (DBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for her services to victims of forced marriage and ‘honour’-based abuse.
Member: Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE
Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs started working in the VAWG sector in 2006 and in 2017, founded Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), the UK’s first charity dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and transforming responses to it. The charity was born out of her 2016 Churchill Fellowship, during which she studied international best practices in responding to financial abuse in the US and Australia.
Under her leadership, SEA played a pivotal role in influencing the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which for the first time included a statutory definition of economic abuse in UK law and removed the co-habitation requirement in Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act, making controlling or coercive behaviour criminal post-separation.
Nicola’s work has had a transformative impact across multiple sectors, including:
financial services
debt advice
domestic abuse support
She collaborated with UK Finance on the Financial Abuse Code to improve industry responses to survivors and, in partnership with Money Advice Plus led the development and rollout of the Economic Abuse Evidence Form, enabling more effective communication between debt advisers and creditors.
Her research contributions include publications on coercive control, domestic homicide, and the long-term impact of abuse on women and children. She has also served as a Research Fellow at the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) at London Metropolitan University and retains Emeritus status. In 2022, Nicola published the book titled ‘Understanding and Responding to Economic Abuse’.
In recognition of her services to victims of domestic and economic abuse, Nicola was awarded an OBE in 2020 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Member: Rachel Freeman
Rachel Freeman spent 31 years as a police officer in Kent Police. Rachel served in a range of roles where she was a specialist safeguarding advisor and an investigator for safeguarding and public protection.
As an accredited detective, Rachel was responsible for investigations in:
domestic abuse
‘honour’-based abuse
forced marriage
stalking
Rachel spent 6 years based at the training school for Kent Police delivering training and awareness to police and multi-agency colleagues regarding these crimes.
Since November 2022, Rachel has been an independent safeguarding consultant and trainer, a safeguarding review practitioner and co-author, an independent foster panel member and chair, and a university lecturer. Rachel regularly delivers training to police forces regarding VAWG crimes.
Rachel has significant frontline and investigative experience in public protection policing and safeguarding, as well as in strategic leadership on domestic abuse through her work in Kent Police. Rachel has experience of working with families who are bereaved because of a domestic homicide and has supported them through the DHR journey.
Rachel will be the policing representative for the QA board.