Meet the Press Complaints Commission's new line-up

A new line-up of the Press Complaints Commission met for the first time last week. PCC director Tim Toulmin explains who's who

The Press Complaints Commission has a formidable new line-up © Will Wintercross

1. Matti Alderson

Chairman, Direct Marketing Commission (formerly Direct Marketing Authority)

Matti has been on the PCC for about six years and is one of the more senior members. As the chairman of the Direct Marketing Commission, and having been director general of the Advertising Standards Authority for 10 years, she has a great overview of self-regulation and consumer protection. She now runs a business giving advice on self-regulatory policy and strategy.

2. Esther Roberton

Non-executive director, Scottish Council for Development and Industry

A lay member who brings a point of view from a different part of the country. She was chairwoman of Fife Health Board and chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. She also campaigned for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. With the renewed focus on devolution, it is important we do as much as possible to underline our credentials as a UK body. There are different characteristics to the Scottish press, so we spend a lot of time up there.

3. Ian Nichol

Member, Criminal Cases Review Commission

Ian has had quite an interesting career, having previously been a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He moved to the CCRC, looking at people who claim they are victims of miscarriages of justice. With that hat on, he is balancing pieces of evidence and helping that commission reach a conclusion. He mostly deals with fraud cases. Ian is an amusing guy and he tends to make sensible points with a certain lightness of touch.

4. Tim Toulmin

Director, Press Complaints Commission

I have been the director here for the past four years, having previously been the deputy director for the same amount of time. I joined the PCC as a graduate in 1996 and my other roles here have included doing complaints investigations and being a press officer.

5. Ian MacGregor

Editor, 'The Sunday Telegraph'

Ian is new to the commission and this was only his second meeting. His early contributions have been very helpful and he has an impressive pedigree. He was deputy editor of the London Evening Standard for four years, editor of the Scottish Daily Mail for 18 months, and launch editor of Metro. Clearly, he is representing the quality newspaper sector and also the Sundays, which have a different perspective because their journalism can have slightly different priorities.

6. The Rt Rev John Waine

Member, the Foundation, University of Essex

John was bishop of Chelmsford from 1986 to 1996 and previously bishop of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich from 1978 to 1986. He is the senior lay member, having been on the commission for about a decade. For a lay member, he has a great sense of the importance of the freedom of the press and is mindful that things in life are rarely black and white. He's always one to strike the right balance.

7. Rear Admiral Nick Wilkinson

Director, Greenwich Foundation

Nick came to us following his role as secretary of the D-Notice committee, which is an independent self-regulation committee including senior officials and press and broadcasting representatives, and which gives advice on the publication of national security matters. The committee used to be wrapped in mystery, but now even has a very open website, and Nick is just completing a book on its history. He is well used to making voluntary regulation work. Just because something doesn't have the force of law doesn't mean to say it can't be highly effective. Nick spent 40 years in the Royal Navy, finally heading the Joint Service Defence College.

8. Christopher Meyer

Chairman, Press Complaints Commission

Sir Christopher has a distinguished diplomatic background and was, most recently, ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003. Before that, he had been ambassador to Germany and he has also had held postings in Washington, Moscow, Madrid and the EC. He started as chairman of the Press Complaints Commission five years ago. For two years, between 1994 and 1996, Sir Christopher was press secretary to prime minister John Major.

9. Simon Irwin

Editorial director, Kent Messenger Group

Simon is a senior figure in the regional press and is another nominee of the Newspaper Society. He is somebody who brings a great deal of common sense as well as a regional newspaper perspective to the commission. In 1998 he joined the Kent Messenger Group, where he was west Kent senior editor and editorial manager before being promoted to associate director.

10. Derek Tucker

Editor, Aberdeen 'Press and Journal'

This is Derek's second stint on the commission, which is unusual. He was nominated by the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society and he's an editor of long-standing, having taken up his post in 1992. He's very widely regarded as having a great sense of judgement. He began his career at the Express and Star newspaper in the West Midlands in 1972. 11. Lindsay Nicholson

Editorial director of National Magazine Company

Lindsay is well-known in the magazine sector and one of the most respected figures in the industry. She edited Good Housekeeping for seven years and now has her NatMags job. She started as a Mirror Group trainee. She's relatively new to the commission, but is a voice of reason. She has a very sensible approach to all the complaints that we get.

12. Tina Weaver

Editor, 'Sunday Mirror'

It was Tina's first meeting. She's a female national newspaper editor who has the respect of people in the industry. Tina was previously deputy editor of the Daily Mirror. She is the PCC's only female newspaper editor, but the commission is well balanced. In terms of diversity we are quite good.

13. Eve Salomon

Commissioner for the Better Regulation Commission and the Gambling Commission

Eve is a regulatory and public affairs consultant. She's also a lawyer and a great believer in self regulation. She thinks non-statutory solutions should be found to maintain and improve standards of the media. She brings a helpful understanding of the limitations of other forms of regulation.

14. Colleen Harris

Runs Dignity Management Consultancy

Colleen's highest profile role was as press secretary to the Prince of Wales, but she has also been director of strategy and communications at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She's now running her own business, promoting diversity in the workplace. Colleen brings a valuable insight into what it's like to be in the middle of a media storm.

15. Dianne Thompson

Chief executive, Camelot Group

Di is perhaps the best known of the lay members and is one of the country's leading businesswomen, having worked in marketing for over 30 years and being named the most powerful woman in marketing in 2006. She does not speak on behalf of business, but she's coming at things from a different angle. Business is underrepresented in the complaints we receive, but when we do get them, the businesses are often pleasantly surprised at how we deal with their points.

16. Spencer Feeney

Editor in chief, 'South Wales Evening Post' and South West Wales Media

Spencer is a nominee of the Newspaper Society as one of two regional editors. The society is looking for somebody senior in the industry, somebody who's going to command the respect of others in the press. We try to ensure we are balanced geographically and Spencer brings a perspective from Wales. One of the big issues for us recently is the coverage of the suicides in South Wales.

17. Vivien Hepworth

Chief executive, Grayling Political Strategy

She brings a political dimension to the commission, through her role at Grayling, but she was previously the chairman of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust and so she also has that public sector background. The trust took quite a battering from the press and I think she empathises with vulnerable people who are featured in the media. She is also robust on the need to protect press freedom and was once a lobby correspondent for regional press.

18. Peter Hill

Editor of the 'Daily Express'

Peter is one of three national newspaper editors on the commission and has been on it for five years now. He joined when he was editor of the Daily Star because of the importance of having a wide range of senior newspaper editors from different sectors of the industry. His professional background speaks for itself: he has also worked at the The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mirror and the Sunday People.