ICO strips commissioner Edwards of responsibilities in HR inquiry

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ICO strips commissioner Edwards of responsibilities in HR inquiry

The UK’s information commissioner , John Edwards, has been temporarily stripped of his responsibilities in the wake of a workplace investigation into as-yet undisclosed allegations. Edwards initially stepped back from his day-to-day role at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at the end of February 2026, and according to the regulator, an independent probe has now found that although there is no finding of any wrongdoing, there is a case to answer. As such, said the ICO, although he has continued to receive updates from his support team and was available if required, Edwards can no longer act in fulfilling his role for the remainder of the process. “Throughout this complex and unprecedented situation, our priority has been to provide a safe and supportive environment for our staff that enables them to carry out their important regulatory work,” said ICO chief executive Paul Arnold. “I’ve been enormously proud of the professional way in which our work has continued across the past months, and the steps we have taken today will ensure that continues to happen.” Under the ICO’s Scheme of Delegation, Arnold will temporarily take on Edwards’ non-delegable responsibilities, but given the commissioner is accountable to Parliament and not directly employed by the ICO, the next steps in the process will now be determined by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), said the data and privacy watchdog. Computer Weekly understands Arnold has also been designated as temporary acting accounting officer for the ICO. In all other regards, the regulator said, the board, chief exec and executive team are continuing to lead the body to ensure continuity in its core work. According to Politico , which was first to break the story back in April , Edwards has returned to New Zealand at this time, although he continues to draw his £200,000 annual salary, which exceeds that paid to the prime minister. Based on information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA), Politico said ICO staffers were initially kept in the dark and told the commissioner was on an extended leave of absence, which it said appeared somewhat at odds with the office’s wider commitment to public transparency. In a LinkedIn post , Edwards said he was “fully cooperating” with the investigation. An information law specialist with 20 years of practice experience, Edwards was named the UK’s new information commissioner by Westminster in August 2021 , succeeding the outgoing Elizabeth Denham – whose term in office had previously been extended during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hailing originally from New Zealand, Edwards previously served as the Kiwi privacy commissioner from 2014 to 2021, and was also chairman of the Global Privacy Assembly from 2014 to 2017. He took up the role as the work of the ICO became increasingly publicly visible after the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and as the sudden rapid digitisation of daily life brought about by the pandemic threw data privacy issues into stark relief. More recently, Edwards has overseen the office’s response to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), last year launching a strategy covering areas such as the use of automated decision-making (ADM) systems and the use of facial recognition by law enforcement , among other things. The ICO said that in order to protect the parties involved and maintain the integrity of the process, it was unable to provide any further details on the matter at this stage. Read more about the ICO's work The ICO has levied a reduced fine on South Staffordshire Water following cyber improvements in the wake of a Cl0p ransomware attack . The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has won an important appeal relating to data protection obligations arising from a 2017-18 cyber attack at electronics retailer Currys PC World . Outsourcing giant Capita hit with £14m fine over 2023 cyber attack, but costs could rise as legal actions continue .

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