Elizabeth Filkin

Last updated

Elizabeth Filkin

CBE
Born (1940-11-24) 24 November 1940 (age 82)
Nationality British
Alma mater Birmingham University
Occupation(s)Public functionary, civil servant

Elizabeth Jill Filkin CBE (born 24 November 1940) is a British public functionary and former civil servant. She was the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards between February 1999 and 2002.

Born in Keynsham, Somerset, Filkin studied at Clifton High School in Bristol and Birmingham University, where she was awarded LLB in Law in 1973. She started her career as a lecturer and community worker at the National Institute for Social Work between 1968 and 1971. She then worked as community work services officer in the London Borough of Brent (1971–75); lecturer in social studies at the University of Liverpool (1975–83); chief executive, then director of community services at the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (1983–90); assistant chief executive, then revenue adjudicator at the London Docklands Development Corporation (1990–1995); and adjudicator at the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and Contributions Agency (1995–99) before becoming Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in February 1999. Her departure was controversial. Many considered she had performed well and should not have had to reapply for the role when her three-year contract came up for renewal. [1]

On 18 July 2011, it was announced that Elizabeth Filkin would lead an inquiry related to the News International phone hacking scandal which would "recommend changes to links between the police and the media, including how to extend transparency." [2] The report of the inquiry was published at the beginning of 2012. [3]

Filkin was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for public service. [4]

Elizabeth Filkin was appointed to the Board of Directors on October 1, 2019.

Filkin, a former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, has held important positions in both the private and public sectors. She currently heads the Tucson Employers' Initiative to Combat Domestic Violence, and is also a trustee of the Vodafone Foundation. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c.23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications. It was introduced by the Tony Blair Labour government ostensibly to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet and strong encryption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Vaz</span> Former British Labour MP

Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 to 2019. He was the British Parliament's longest-serving British Asian MP.

Rebekah Mary Brooks is a British media executive and former journalist and newspaper editor. She has been chief executive officer of News UK since 2015. She was previously CEO of News International from 2009 to 2011 and was the youngest editor of a British national newspaper at News of the World, from 2000 to 2003, and the first female editor of The Sun, from 2003 to 2009. Brooks married actor Ross Kemp in 2002. They divorced in 2009 and she married former racehorse trainer and author Charlie Brooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Stephenson (police officer)</span>

Sir Paul Robert Stephenson is a British retired police officer who was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner from 2009 to 2011.

John Yates is a former Assistant Commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police Service (2006–2011). As leader of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)'s Special Inquiry Squad, Yates was dubbed "Yates of the Yard" by the British press following his involvement in a number of cases with high media profiles. Yates came to particular prominence for heading the Cash for Honours investigation. Yates also coordinated the UK police response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, heading "Operation Bracknell", for which he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in January 2006. He resigned in July 2011 over criticism of a July 2009 review he carried out of the 2006 police investigation of the News of the World royal phone hacking scandal. He now works for the government of Bahrain advising it on reform of its security forces.

Andrew Christopher Hayman CBE QPM is a retired British police officer and author of The Terrorist Hunters. Hayman held the rank of Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, the highest-ranking officer responsible for counter-terrorism in the United Kingdom. Hayman was directly responsible for the investigation into the 7 July 2005 London bombings. He has also spoken for the Association of Chief Police Officers, first on drugs policy, and later on counter-terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News International phone hacking scandal</span> Media scandal

The News International phone hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now-defunct News of the World and other British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories.

Operation Weeting was a British police investigation that commenced on 26 January 2011, under the Specialist Crime Directorate of the Metropolitan Police Service into allegations of phone hacking in the News of the World phone hacking affair. The operation was conducted alongside Operation Elveden, an investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to the police by those involved with phone hacking, and Operation Tuleta, an investigation into alleged computer hacking for the News of the World. All three operations are led by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, Head of Organised Crime & Criminal Networks within the Specialist Crime Directorate.

Susan Penelope Akers CBE QPM is a retired Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the British Metropolitan Police Service.

Operation Elveden was a British police investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police officers and other public officials. It was opened as a result of documents provided by News International to the Operation Weeting investigation.

Jonathan Rees is a British private investigator, and former partner of murdered private investigator Daniel Morgan.

Operation Tuleta is a British police investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service into allegations of computer hacking, related to the News International phone hacking scandal.

The News Corporation scandal involves phone, voicemail, and computer hacking that were allegedly committed over a number of years. The scandal began in the United Kingdom, where the News International phone hacking scandal has to date resulted in the closure of the News of the World newspaper and the resignation of a number of senior members of the Metropolitan Police force.

The News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations followed the revelations in 2005 of voicemail interception on behalf of News of the World. Despite wider evidence of wrongdoing, the News of the World royal phone hacking scandal appeared resolved with the 2007 conviction of the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, and the resignation of editor Andy Coulson. However, a series of civil legal cases and investigations by newspapers, parliament and the police ultimately saw evidence of "industrial scale" phone hacking, leading to the closure of the News of the World on 10 July 2011. However, the affair did not end there, developing into the News Corporation ethics scandal as wrongdoing beyond the News of the World and beyond phone hacking came to light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leveson Inquiry</span> 2011 judicial public inquiry into the British press

The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of public hearings were held throughout 2011 and 2012. The Inquiry published the Leveson Report in November 2012, which reviewed the general culture and ethics of the British media, and made recommendations for a new, independent, body to replace the existing Press Complaints Commission, which would have to be recognised by the state through new laws. Prime Minister David Cameron, under whose direction the inquiry had been established, said that he welcomed many of the findings, but declined to enact the requisite legislation. Part 2 of the inquiry was to be delayed until after criminal prosecutions regarding events at the News of the World, but the Conservative Party's 2017 manifesto stated that the second part of the inquiry would be dropped entirely, and this was confirmed by Culture Secretary Matt Hancock in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 March 2018.

The news media phone hacking scandal is a controversy over illegal acquisition of confidential information by news media organizations that reportedly occurred in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia between 1995 and 2011. This article includes reference lists for various topics relating to that scandal.

This article provides a narrative beginning in 1999 of investigations by the Metropolitan Police Service (Met) of Greater London into the illegal acquisition of confidential information by agents in collaboration with the news media that is commonly referred to as the phone hacking scandal. The article discusses seven phases of investigations by the Met and several investigations of the Met itself, including critiques and responses regarding the Met's performance. Separate articles provide an overview of the scandal and a comprehensive set of reference lists with detailed background information.

Robert Fredrick Behrens is the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. He has previously worked as the Chief Executive and Independent Adjudicator for the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) and as the Complaints Commissioner for the Bar Standards Board.

By 2002, the practice of publications using private investigators to acquire confidential information was widespread in the United Kingdom, with some individuals using illegal methods. Information was allegedly acquired by accessing private voicemail accounts, hacking into computers, making false statements to officials to obtain confidential information, entrapment, blackmail, burglaries, theft of mobile phones and making payments to officials in exchange for confidential information. The kind of information acquired illegally included private communication, physical location of individuals, bank account records, medical records, phone bills, tax files, and organisational strategies.

References

  1. "Profile of Elizabeth Filkin". BBC News. 5 December 2001. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  2. Patrick Wintour (19 July 2011) Phone hacking: Theresa May announces more inquiries Archived 8 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine , The Guardian
  3. "Filkin report: Police warned over press links". BBC. 4 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013. The 'close relationship' between parts of Scotland Yard and the media has caused 'serious harm', a report says.
  4. "No. 60895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b9.
  5. "Elizabeth Filkin CBE" . Retrieved 25 July 2023.

Further reading