The Information Commissioner’s Office is under growing pressure to release details of the how long it knew about commissioner John Edwards’ behaviour, following his decision to quit on Friday, amid claims he jumped before he was pushed.
The move, the first time in the regulator’s 42-year history that its boss has resigned, comes just a week after the ICO said Edwards “had a case to answer” following an independent workplace investigation into an undisclosed incident.
In a LinkedIn post on Friday morning, Edwards revealed he had notified Ian Murray, the minister for digital government and data, of his resignation, which has taken immediate effect.
Edwards said in the statement: “From the time the investigation was launched, I have accepted that there have been occasions where I exercised poor judgement and made attempts at humour that were inappropriate and caused offence. It is for this reason that I have decided that it is appropriate that I resign from my position.”
While speculation had been rife over Edwards’ “industrial vocabulary”, Science Secretary Liz Kendall has since let the cat out of the bag by saying she had “seen evidence of the vulgar and highly sexualised language” that was used in Edwards’ interactions with his own staff.
Kendall continued: “I am extremely concerned that he continues to describe these incidents as misplaced humour, including on his social media post announcing his resignation. Such conduct does not belong in the workplace, least of all exhibited by the leader of an organisation.
“Multiple women shared testimony to the investigator on feeling offended, shocked and uncomfortable following interactions with Mr Edwards. I am deeply grateful to all who came forward to share their experiences as part of this investigation.”
The ICO has also released a statement which reads: “Mr Edwards’ actions were completely at odds with our values. We do not accept sexual harassment, bullying or discrimination in any form and have clear policies in place to deal with issues such as these.
“We’re committed to ensuring a safe culture where all staff are able to raise concerns, knowing they will be taken seriously and trusting that action will be taken where appropriate. This must include concerns raised about the behaviour of the holder of the important and privileged role of Information Commissioner.
“Our priority continues to be providing a safe and supportive environment for our staff. We have been unable to comment as the investigation was ongoing, but our utmost focus has always been on supporting those affected. We thank all ICO colleagues for their professionalism and especially those who courageously shared their experiences as part of the independent investigation.”
However, when asked by the BBC, the ICO refused to elaborate on the findings of its investigation, with many data protection experts on calling for “full disclosure”.
Mischon de Reya senior data protection specialist Jon Baines, who has been posting about this story on LinkedIn since the news first broke back in February, wrote: “What a disgrace. My sympathy is with those who had to work with him in what appears to have been a toxic environment. And a question still hangs over this: how long has this behaviour been known about and by whom?”
To which Open Proof Standards Foundation chairman Peter Borner responded: “The gap between how (Edwards) characterised it and what Liz Kendall put on the record is substantial. Your question about who knew what, and when, is the right one. Solidarity with those who came forward.”
Meanwhile, data protection expert Emma Butler added: “I wonder how long it was going on before action was taken and how far the ICO has failed its staff by covering stuff up.”
And, NHS England lead IG specialist David Evans said: “I suspect this was not based on a sudden incident but was a build-up of poor behaviour with the questions of just how long had this gone on before being stopped, and how many people were affected?”
Edwards’ departure comes amid a major overhaul of the ICO, laid out in the Data (Use & Access) Act, which will see the watchdog’s governance structure brought in line with other UK regulators, which have more of a corporate composition. The commissioner’s role is being scrapped in favour of a chair, a CEO and a board of non-executive directors.
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