Graeme Biggar
Director General of the National Crime Agency from October 2021
| Graeme Biggar
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Graeme Biggar |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Civil servant; Director General of the National Crime Agency |
| Known for | Director General of the National Crime Agency from 5 October 2021 |
| Education | Royal College of Defence Studies (MA in International Security Studies) |
| Predecessor | Lynne Owens |
Graeme Biggar CBE is a British civil servant who has been Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA) since 5 October 2021, when he took over on an interim basis from Lynne Owens. The Home Secretary, then Priti Patel, appointed him to a five-year term on 12 August 2022 after an open recruitment process. The NCA leadership pages checked on 11 November 2026 still listed him as Director General.[1][2]
Career
The NCA biography says Biggar joined the agency as Director General of the National Economic Crime Centre in March 2019. Before that he was Director of National Security in the Home Office, a role in which the biography says he worked on countering terrorism and state threats, helped shape the response to the 2017 terrorist attacks and the Salisbury attack, and oversaw the programme to implement the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 across government. From 2013 to 2016 he was Chief of Staff to the Defence Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. Earlier Ministry of Defence posts listed in the biography include Head of Operational Policy, Head of Defence Security, Head of the Defence Reform Unit, Head of Defence Business Improvement and Head of the Defence Change Portfolio. He spent a year at the Royal College of Defence Studies, where he was awarded a distinction in an MA in International Security Studies, and earlier worked at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[1]
He was awarded a CBE for his work as Director of National Security.[1]
Appointment to the NCA
| Office | Start | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director General, National Crime Agency (interim from 5 October 2021; five-year term from 12 August 2022) | 5 October 2021 | In office at November 2026 | [1][2] |
| Director General, National Economic Crime Centre, National Crime Agency | March 2019 | October 2021 | [1] |
| Director of National Security, Home Office | — | to 2019 | [1] |
| Chief of Staff to the Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence | 2013 | 2016 | [1] |
The August 2022 appointment notice said the Director General was responsible for the agency’s then 6,000 officers in the United Kingdom and overseas, for setting operational priorities, and for shaping the UK law-enforcement response to serious and organised crime.[2]