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Justice Minister appoints Lord Harris as chair of the new Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody

08 December 2008

Lord Toby Harris has been appointed the inaugural Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody.

Justice Minister Shahid Malik MP has today announced the appointment of Lord Toby Harris as the inaugural Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody.

Shahid Malik said:

'I congratulate Lord Harris on his appointment. He was selected from a very strong field of applicants. It was heartening to see how many very able people share the government's commitment to bringing about a reduction in the number of people who die in all forms of state custody.

'The Independent Advisory Panel will play an important role in helping to shape government policy in this area by providing independent advice and expertise to ministers and the heads of key agencies. As the first Chair of the IAP, Lord Harris will be influential in setting the panel's objectives, its programme of work and the tone for its relationships with other stakeholders. I look forward to working with him.'

Notes to editors

• Lord Harris is a former Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Association of London Government. He also served as Leader of Haringey Borough Council and as the Director of the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales.
• The Independent Advisory Panel will form one tier of the new three-tier Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, announced by the Ministry of Justice in July, following the publication of the Fulton Review. The Panel's role will be to provide independent advice and expertise to the first of the three tiers, the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody. The Council is jointly funded by the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and the Home Office.
• The panel will be made up of recognised experts in relevant fields such as suicide and self-harm, drug and alcohol misuse, and human rights.
• The post of panel Chair is a ministerial appointment made in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice.
• The Ministerial Council is expected to start operation from April 2009. It brings together senior decision-makers and stakeholders concerned with deaths in all forms of state custody (prison, police, immigration, revenue and customs, and psychiatric hospitals). This cross-sector approach will strengthen and build on the work of the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody, which was set up in 2006.
• Further details on the role of the Ministerial Council and the Panel are available on the website of the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody.