Nazir Afzal is one of the best known names in the legal profession, says IPSO, having been the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West of England. More recently, he has worked as an international expert on extremism and radicalisation. Nazir will be a lay member of the Committee.
Miranda Winram is currently a Head of Strategy and Insight and on the Board of Forest Enterprise and was a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Fitness to Practice committee between 2009 and 2017. Miranda will be a lay member of the Committee.
Andrew Pettie has worked for 20 years as a journalist and editor for newspapers, magazines and publishers including the Telegraph Media Group, EMAP, the BBC and Encyclopaedia Britannica. He is now a consultant, contributing editor and writer. Andrew will be an editorial member of the Committee, with recent senior experience at a national broadsheet newspaper.
IPSO Chairman, Sir Alan Moses, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Nazir, Miranda and Andrew onto the Complaints Committee. Nearly 600 applied to join the Committee. Many of these would have been suitable to serve as independent members, exercising astute and impartial judgement. This response and the quality of the three successful candidates amply demonstrate the high standing and reputation of IPSO after three years.
Sir Alan concluded: “I would like to express my gratitude to and admiration for Matthew Lohn, Jill May and Elisabeth Ribbans who have served on the Complaints Committee since 2014. It is difficult to exaggerate the value of their independent analysis, commitment and hard work in dealing with thousands of complaints during this period. They have powerfully contributed to the success of the Committee and thereby provided an important service to the public whose complaints they have examined so fairly and assiduously”.
Commenting on his appointment, Nazir said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the Complaints Committee. I have been interested in IPSO’s work since its creation and am confident that my background in law and community engagement will bring a unique perspective to the Committee’s work.”
Miranda said: “I have had a lifelong interest in the press and cannot imagine a more interesting role. Without a free press everyone would be poorer and it is a privilege to be involved in helping to get the correct balance between freedom of expression and redress where things go wrong.”
Andrew added: "I spent 20 interesting and enjoyable years working as a journalist and editor for a variety of newspapers and magazines and I am greatly looking forward to using that experience to help IPSO continue in its mission to provide thoughtful and effective regulation of the press”.
