House of Lords agree to appoint two new Commissioners for Standards

Mr Khan and Mr Jelley will take up their roles on the 1 June and 1 July respectively. They will replace Lucy Scott-Moncrieff whose fixed term 5-year appointment comes to an end on 31 May.

This will be the first time the House has appointed two Commissioners for Standards. This will ensure there is resilience in the Commissioners’ investigation process while the two post holders each work an average of 5 days a month in the role.

Martin Jelley QPM is Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police Force, a position from which he will retire at the end of June. He has worked in policing for 33 years. During that time he has served as the National Police Chiefs Council lead on vetting and professional and ethical standards, he was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service in the 2016 New Year’s Honours.

Akbar Khan is a qualified Barrister-at-law (England and Wales) and Attorney-at-Law (New York State). He is a qualified investigator for bullying, harassment and misconduct and has worked as Head of International Law at the British Embassy, The Hague representing British legal interests before the United Nations International Courts and Tribunals. He also served as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He currently serves as a statutory Legally Qualified Chairperson for several police regulatory misconduct bodies and also as the first Head of Judiciary for the International Rugby League (IRL).

Commenting ahead of their appointment Lord Mance, Chair of the House of Lords Conduct Committee, said:

“I welcome the House’s appointment of Martin Jelley and Akbar Khan. They each come to the role of Commissioner with a wealth of experience that will benefit the House and provide a robust and resilient resource for the enforcement of the Code. I thank Lucy Scott-Moncrieff for all her work as Commissioner, particularly during a period which has presented some very challenging cases.”