Press Complaints Commission >> The Commission

THe Commission

There are sixteen Members of the Commission - drawn from both the press and the public.

There is a clear majority of lay members on the Commission who are independent of the newspaper and magazine publishing industry. These include the Chairman of the Commission, Lord Wakeham. This strong lay membership is crucial to the work of the PCC - bringing robust common sense to the interpretation of the Code of Practice.

One new member of the Commission was appointed in 1996 - Mrs Arzina Bhanji, a dental surgeon and Director of the Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

(left) Lord Tordoff - Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees, House of Lords; Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Lords 1988 - 94.
(right) Sir Brian Cubbon CBG - Permanent Secretary: Home Office 1979-88, Northern Ireland Office 1976-79.

Iris Burton - Editor in Chief , Woman's Realm and Woman's Weekly, CHAT & Eva.
John Witherow - Editor, Sunday Times.

Seven Members of the Commission are drawn from the senior ranks of the national, regional and local newspaper and magazine publishing industry. They bring a vital bank of editorial experience and technical expertise to the work of the Commission.

Three editorial members of the Commission - Derek Tucker, Geoffrey Elliot and David Williams - retired from the PCC at the end of 1996. The new members appointed in their place were Jim Cassidy (Editor of the Sunday Mail, Graham Collyer (Editor of the Surrey Advertiser) and John Griffith (Editor of the Liverpool Echo).

(l - r) Graham Collyer - Editor, Surrey Advertiser.
Guy Black - Director.
Professor Robert Pinker (Privacy Commissioner) - Professor of Social Administration, London School of Economics.

Sir David English - Chairman and Editor in Chief, Associated Newspapers.
Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde - Chairman, Independent Committee for the supervision of Standards of Telephone Services; General Secretary, SOGAT 1985-91

John Griffith - Editor, Liverpool Echo
Jenny Brown - Literature Director, Scottish Arts Council; Director, Edinburgh Book Festival 1982-91

(left) Lady Browne Wilkinson - Solicitor, Allen & Overy
(right) Arzina Bhanji - Dental Surgeon; Director, Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

Photograph unavailble of the these Commission members:

Tom Clarke - Editor, The Sporting Life.
Jim Cassidy - Editor, The Sunday Mail.
Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill - Chairman, Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Appointments Commission

Members of the PPC are appointed by an independent Appointments Commission, chaired by Lord Wakeham. The other members of the Appointments Commission in 1996 were Lord Irvine of Lairg QC (then Shadow Lord Chancellor), Sir Denys Henderson (Chairman of the Rank Organisation plc), Sir Geoffrey Holland (Vice Chancellor of Exeter University and Sir Harry Roche (Chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance). Appointments to the Commission are therefore made by a body that has itself a clear lay majority of members unconnected with the press.

Lord Irvine resigned from the Appointments Commission after the 1997 General Election, when he was appointed Lord Chancellor. The PCC would like to take this oportunity to thank him for his wise counsel over the past five years and for the invaluable role he has played in that time in building tough and effective self regulation.

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