EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE

16.09.09

Tim Toulmin to step down as PCC Director

The Director of the Press Complaints Commission, Tim Toulmin, has announced that he is leaving the post at the end of this year. He said:

"I decided earlier in the year that - after 13 years at the PCC, and nearly 6 as its Director - it would be right for me to move on after helping to ensure a smooth transition from Christopher Meyer to Peta Buscombe. It has been a privilege to be part of an organisation which has adapted well to the challenges of media convergence and the changing legal environment, and it is gratifying that there is an ever-increasing demand and respect for the PCC's range of services - from pre-publication action preventing intrusion to the negotiation of prominent corrections and apologies. The way in which the press is regulated will perhaps always divide opinion, but thanks to its brilliant and dedicated staff the PCC has a record of achievement of which any director would be proud".

PCC Chairman Baroness Buscombe said:

"Tim told me in the early summer that he wanted to move on at the end of the year. I have enjoyed working with him over the last few months, and been most grateful to him for his support, but I do of course understand his reasons for wanting to explore other avenues. On behalf of the Commission as a whole I would like to thank him for everything he has done for us, and wish him all the best for the future. The post will shortly be advertised, with interviews taking place in October".

ENDS

Notes

1. Tim Toulmin has been Director of the Press Complaints Commission since March 2004, and was Acting Director from January-March 2004. He joined the PCC as a graduate in 1996, having read history at Peterhouse, Cambridge.
2. He will leave the PCC on the 18^th December 2009.
3. The position will shortly be advertised in the national press, and interviews will be undertaken by a panel appointed by the board of the Press Complaints Commission, which is responsible for the appointment of the Director.
4. For more information, call Tim Toulmin on 020 78310022 or 07803 597372.