Richard Thomas (lawyer)

Richard Thomas
Residence	Reigate, Surrey
Term	As UK Information Commissioner December 2, 2002 - June 28, 2009
Predecessor	Elizabeth France
Successor	Christopher Graham
Spouse(s)	Julia Clarke (m. 1974)
Children	3

Richard James Thomas CBE is best known for his tenure as Information Commissioner of the United Kingdom, a post which he held from December 2002 to June 2009. During his time in office, he raised concerns over the increased use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) and the introduction of ID Cards in the UK.

Thomas is currently Deputy Chairman and co-opted Council Member of the Consumers' Association, Trustee / Director of Whitehall & Industry Group and was Chairman of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council from 1 September 2009 until its abolition in August 2013. He is also a visiting professor of Law at Northumbria University.

Born in June 1949, the son of a magistrate, Thomas attended public school and studied law at Southampton University in the late 1960s (he was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from this same university).

In his early career, he worked as an articled clerk and solicitor with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (from 1971) and the Citizens Advice Bureau, Notting Hill (from 1974). He then went on to work in legal and public affairs positions with the National Consumer Council (from 1979) and the Office of Fair Trading. While at the National Consumer Council he was also involved with the Campaign for Freedom of Information and had a secondary involvement in the publishing of a book of essays entitled Consuming Secrets.

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