Sir Ian Andrews

Recent articles in The Independent have reported how the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) refused publicly to disclose the identities of blue chip companies which hired private detectives.  Sir Ian Andrews, was Chairman of SOCA when the decision to classify the information was made and communicated to a parliamentary select committee. He has asked us to make clear that he was uninvolved in the decision-making process: that as non-executive Chairman, his role was simply to communicate and explain the decision made by SOCA officers and that his resignation as SOCA Chairman was unconnected with his appearances before the select committee. It was solely as a result of his failure formally to disclose to SOCA that in 2012 he had become the director of a management consultancy company which he ran with his wife.