Sexual jokes and bullying at the heart of ICO decision-making under Edwards

Details about the allegations that prompted an independent HR investigation into former Information Commissioner John Edwards, which led to his resignation, are beginning to emerge. 

In an excellent piece of investigative journalism, Ben Ellery, Deputy Chief Reporter at The Times, discovered a pattern of Edwards making inappropriate jokes about paedophiles during meetings and events, accounts of sexually explicit remarks involving a female member of staff, along with claims of bullying and discrimination. The article raises questions about attempts to characterise Edwards' downfall as merely a case of humour gone wrong.

According to the article, concerns about the former commissioner's judgment began at the start of his tenure in 2022, when he shared a joke that some managers considered antisemitic. While staff initially wondered whether he misunderstood British workplace nuances after arriving from New Zealand, sources described a wider pattern of crude jokes, including references to masturbation and a sexually explicit remark involving a female staff member.

Sources also detailed bullying behaviour in internal meetings, noting that the former commissioner could become visibly angry, shout, tell people to stop speaking, and state he had no confidence in their judgment. Managers reportedly sought to shield junior colleagues, and one former senior enforcement official raised a formal grievance about the impact of this behaviour. This grievance was handled internally by non-executive directors but was not upheld. The official stated that they objected to the grievance being handled internally at the time. The non-executives were too close to Edwards: "No one can claim that they didn't know." 

The article also describes another regulatory meeting concerning a Big Tech provider's policy approach to Consent or Pay. During the meeting, Edwards became visibly angry after an ICO member of staff suggested the company should evidence their approach to pricing. Edwards' reaction involved calling out staff members to say what the correct price should be, suggesting decreasing amounts and asking them to stop him when he reached the "right" amount. The exchange raises serious questions about regulatory decision-making that extend beyond issues of professional impropriety.

Training announcement: Freevacy provides comprehensive training for new and existing practitioners on the changes introduced by the DUA Act to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18), and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PEC-Regulations). Our courses are always up to date and provide a forum for learning and discussing how to ensure your data protection processes remain compliant. Find out more.