Nicholas Lionel Hardwick (born 19 July 1957) is a British executive who has led UK-based charities and criminal justice organisations. Most recently he was chair of the

Parole Board for England and Wales The Parole Board for England and Wales () was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The ...

from March 2016 until his resignation on 28 March 2018 following a legal challenge to a Parole Board decision to release convicted serial rapist

John Worboys John Derek Radford (formerly John Worboys; born June 1957) is a British convicted sex offender, known as the Black Cab Rapist. Worboys was convicted in 2009 for attacks on 12 women. Police say he may have had more than 100 victims. Early life Bo ...

Early life

Nick Hardwick was born on 19 July 1957, in Surrey. He was educated at

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a boys' school to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orpha ...

and the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

, where he earned a third class honours degree in English literature in 1979.

Career

From 1986 to 1995 he was chief executive of the charity Centrepoint. From June 1995 to January 2003, he was chief executive of the

Refugee Council The Refugee Council is a UK based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations. The R ...

. Hardwick was appointed in December 2002 as the chair of the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

, taking office in February 2003; the IPCC existed in shadow form from 1 April 2003, and formally replaced the

Police Complaints Authority This is a list of notable authorities, agencies and similar bodies that are responsible for investigating or responding to complaints about police. Asia Hong Kong *Independent Police Complaints Council India * Police Complaints Authority (In ...

on 1 April 2004. As IPCC chair he defended its investigations which included enquiries into the

death of Jean Charles de Menezes Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes (; 7 January 1978 – 22 July 2005) was a Brazilian man killed by officers of the London Metropolitan Police Service at Stockwell station on the London Underground, after he was wrongly deemed to be one of t ...

and the policing of the 2009 G20 London summit protests. From July 2010, he was

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief insp ...

, replacing

Anne Owers Dame Anne Elizabeth Owers, (''née'' Spark; born 23 June 1947) was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. Owers was the fifth holder of the post, appointed in August 2001, succeeding David Ramsbotham. Her appointment was renewed in June 2006 ...

. He was appointed CBE in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

. Hardwick was appointed chair of the

in March 2016, and resigned on 28 March 2018 following a successful legal challenge which led to the quashing of the Parole Board decision to release

from prison on licence. Hardwick had played no role in the decision of the Board's panel, but said he took "accountability for the work of the Board", and, after being told by the

Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice, also referred to as the justice secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the Un ...

(

David Gauke David Michael Gauke (; born 8 October 1971) is a British political commentator, solicitor and former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Hertfordshire from 2005 to 2019. He served in the Cabinet under Theresa May, mo ...

) that his position was untenable, resigned with immediate effect. He was succeeded by Caroline Corby.

References

1957 births Living people People educated at Epsom College Alumni of the University of Hull British chief executives British prison inspectors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London {{UK-business-bio-stub