2 hours ago 14 minutes ago
Liv McMahonTechnology reporter
BBC
John Edwards had been the accusation commissioner since 2022
John Edwards, the UK's accusation commissioner, has resigned pursuing a workplace investigation.
"I person accepted that determination person been occasions wherever I exercised mediocre judgement and made attempts astatine humour that were inappropriate and caused offence," helium said successful a connection connected Friday.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is liable for regulating AI successful the UK and besides oversees information extortion regularisation and the state of accusation law.
The BBC has approached the ICO and the authorities for a response.
Edwards, who had been astatine the watchdog since January 2022, had already stepped backmost from his station successful February erstwhile the probe started.
In his statement, shared connected his LinkedIn page, helium said portion helium disagreed with however the ICO's probe had been carried out, "I judge that my presumption has go untenable".
He said helium did not privation to go "a distraction" from the ICO's enactment and had notified the authorities of his resignation arsenic some commissioner and seat of the ICO "effective immediately".
The ICO said in a connection connected 10 June its probe had been completed and, uncovering "there is simply a lawsuit to answer", said the commissioner would beryllium "temporarily incapable to enactment successful fulfilling his responsibilities for the remainder of the process".
It comes amid accrued scrutiny implicit the ICO's work, peculiarly successful dealing with information extortion complaints from the public.
Non-profit run groups the Good Law Project and the Open Rights Group (ORG) precocious launched enactment to situation the watchdog - accusing it of "brushing speech thousands of nationalist information complaints".
"John Edwards' departure is simply a accidental for the Government to name a regulator with teeth, and reset the regulators' attack of providing information extortion successful sanction only," ORG enforcement manager Jim Killock said connected Friday.
"Parliament indispensable guarantee that the aboriginal Commission is tally by professionals who privation the instrumentality enforced, including against authorities information failures."
Edwards said successful his connection connected Friday helium was "proud" of his ain contributions and that of ICO staff, much broadly.
"While I volition nary longer beryllium capable to proceed this enactment successful my existent role, my committedness to the principles, values, and objectives that person guided my nonrecreational beingness remains unchanged," helium added.
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