Philip Mawer

Sir Philip Mawer (born 30 July 1947) is a former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards who was in the post from 2002 until 2008 when he became an independent advisor on Ministerial standards to Gordon Brown. He was previously Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England.

Philip Mawer was born in Kingston upon Hull in 1947. He was educated at Hull Grammar School and Edinburgh University where he was president of the Students Representative Council. After graduation he joined the Civil Service, rising to become Principal Private Secretary to Douglas Hurd. He supported Lord Scarman in his investigation of the 1981 Brixton riot. Scarman later described him as "a brilliant man in handling questions of principle.

In 1990, he was appointed as the Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England and of the Archbishop's Council. Among the major issues during his time in office was the decision to allow the ordination of women. He was awarded a knighthood in the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours for his work at the Synod.

Mawer was appointed as Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in February 2002. During his period in office he conducted a four year enquiry into the conduct of George Galloway which ultimately led to Galloway's suspension from the House of Commons for 18 days.

In January 2008, Mawer was appointed as an "independent advisor" to Gordon Brown, investigating alleged breaches in the ministerial code of conduct. The advisor has to wait for a case to be referred to him by the prime minister before mounting an investigation.

In May 2009, he conducted an investigation into allegations by The Daily Telegraph that Justice Minister, Shahid Malik, had paid a rent below the market rate for his home and constituency office. Malik was cleared by Mawer's investigation and was reappointed to Gordon Brown's government in the June 2009 reshuffle, as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

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