Former DPP Sir David Calvert-Smith to lead review into resignation of IOPC Director General
Former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir David Calvert-Smith will lead the independent review into the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Michael Lockwood as Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Mr Lockwood stepped down from the post in December for “personal and domestic reasons”, although Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she had been forced to take “immediate action” after being made aware that Mr Lockwood was the subject of a police investigation into a “historical allegation”.
The IOPC said the review will set out to understand the circumstances of Mr Lockwood’s resignation to ensure that relevant processes and policies are fit for purpose, corporate risks were understood and to make any recommendations for accountability, governance, culture and practice.
It added that the terms of reference for the independent review by Sir David, a retired High Court judge and also former chair of the Parole Board of England and Wales, are now available.
The review is expected to report before the summer.
Julia Mulligan, senior independent director on the IOPC Unitary Board said: “The review is an important step to establish the known facts and events which led up to Mr Lockwood’s resignation, so that we can assure ourselves that we have the right procedures and processes in place to deal with these types of circumstances.
“It is important that this is an independent review, which is why we have asked Sir David Calvert-Smith to lead it.
“Sir David has had a long and distinguished legal career and I am pleased he’s agreed to conduct the review. He will produce a report with recommendations to the IOPC Unitary Board on any changes to policy and wider governance within the organisation.”
The IOPC said the objectives of the review were to:
- Establish what was known to whom and when, and what they did with that information;
- Understand to what extent decisions and actions taken met good governance requirements;
- Provide recommendations to Unitary Board on any changes to policy and wider governance within the IOPC; and
- To inform the Cabinet Office Review of the IOPC due to take place in 2023.
Mr Lockwood was the first Director General appointed to lead the IOPC when it replaced the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2018.