Chief Surveillance Commissioner
| Chief Surveillance Commissioner
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  Lord Judge, the final Chief Surveillance Commissioner before the office was replaced in 2017. |
| Type | Judicial surveillance-oversight office |
| Founded | 1 July 1998 (first appointment)[1] |
| Dissolved | 1 September 2017 (transfer of functions)[2] |
| Status | Functions transferred to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office in 2017[2] |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Services | Oversight of police and Customs intrusive-surveillance authorisations; review and appeals[1] |
| Key people | Igor Judge — final Chief Surveillance Commissioner[2] |
| Remarks | Predecessor to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office. Andrew Leggatt was appointed first Chief Surveillance Commissioner on 1 July 1998[1] |
The Chief Surveillance Commissioner was the head of the Office of Surveillance Commissioners. The Prime Minister announced Andrew Leggatt’s appointment as the first Chief Surveillance Commissioner on 1 July 1998, initially for three years, under section 91 of the Police Act 1997.[1] The post was one of the oversight posts whose functions were replaced by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner in September 2017. The Home Office’s announcement of 1 September 2017 identifies Lord Judge as the outgoing Chief Surveillance Commissioner and states that the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office took over the inspection and oversight functions of the previous commissioners’ offices.[2]
See also
Office of Surveillance Commissioners | Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 UK Parliament, Hansard, "Chief Surveillance Commissioner", 1 July 1998, HC Deb vol. 315, col. 185W, accessed 6 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Home Office, Investigatory Powers Commissioner establishes oversight regime, 1 September 2017, accessed 6 November 2026 (Europe/London, GMT).