Intelligence Services Commissioner

21 March 2003

The Prime Minister announced today the re-appointment of Lord Justice Simon Brown as the Intelligence Services Commissioner from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006 under Section 59(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Notes for Editors

Section 59(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 provides for the Prime Minister, after consultation with the Foreign, Home and Defence Secretaries, to appoint the Intelligence Services Commissioner. The Commissioner must be a person who holds or has held high judicial office with the meaning of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. The Commissioner is appointed for a three year period with the possibility of re-appointment.

The Commissioner's responsibility is to keep under review the issue of warrants by the Secretary of State authorising intrusive surveillance and interference with property, in order to ensure that these were issued on a proper basis. At the end of each calendar year, the Commissioner submits a report to the Prime Minister which is subsequently laid before Parliament and published.

Biographical Notes

Lord Justice Simon Brown (65) served as a Judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, from 1984 to 1992 and was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1992. He has been Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) since 2001. In April 2000 Lord Justice Simon Brown was appointed as Commissioner for the Security Service, under the Security Service Act 1989 (SSA), and the Commissioner for the Intelligence Services, under the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (ISA). When the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) came into force, the relevant sections of both SSA and ISA ceased to have effect and Lord Justice Simon Brown was appointed Intelligence Service Commissioner under RIPA.