The UK’s information commissioner, John Edwards, has resigned following an HR investigation into complaints made about him in the workplace.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) confirmed the departure of New Zealand-born Edwards on June 19. It revealed that the investigation had concluded that there was a case to answer and “made clear that his behavior fell short of the conduct expected from a public official.”
The secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Liz Kendall, shared more details of the case on LinkedIn.
“I have seen evidence of the vulgar and highly sexualized language that was used in his interactions with his staff and am extremely concerned that he continues to describe these incidents as misplaced humour, including on his social media post announcing his resignation,” she wrote.
“Such conduct does not belong in the workplace, least of all exhibited by the leader of an organization.”
Read more on the ICO: UK’s Data Watchdog Gets a Makeover to Match Growing Demands.
Kendall went on to thank those who came forward to share their experiences with investigators.
“Multiple women shared testimony to the investigator on feeling offended, shocked and uncomfortable following interactions with Mr Edwards,” she added.
Although it initially released only a brief statement short on detail about the case, the ICO posted an update on June 20, following Kendall’s post.
“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,” it said.
“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 behavior of the holder of the important and privileged role of information commissioner.”
Edwards Describes “Untenable” Position
Edwards himself took to LinkedIn admitting that his position had become untenable
“From the time the investigation was launched, I have accepted that there have been occasions where I exercised poor judgement and made attempts at humor that were inappropriate and caused offence,” he said.
“It is for this reason that I have decided that it is appropriate that I resign from my position.”
Edwards then spoke about the need to “continuously adapt our collective efforts to ensure safety, accountability, and trust online” as the “AI tsunami breaks over us.”
Edwards, who now has an “open to work” banner on his LinkedIn profile, had comments turned off on the post.
One of the more controversial chapters of Edwards’ four-year reign as information commissioner was his introduction of a new policy for public sector organizations.
This saw the ICO reduce fines for erring public sector bodies and focus more heavily on reprimands, which some experts branded unfair and misguided.
