The BBFC is pleased to announce that, following an open competition, Alison Hastings and Gerard Lemos have been appointed as Vice Presidents of the BBFC. They will take up their posts in November when Janet Lewis-Jones and Lord John Taylor of Warwick step down after ten years as the Board's Vice Presidents.
Alison Hastings is a media consultant; a member of the BBC Trust and Chair of the Audience Council England (as Trustee for England) and a member of the Audience and Performance Committee. She is also a member of the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee. She was a member of the Press Complaints Commission from 1997 to 2002.
Gerard Lemos is a Partner in Lemos and Crane Social Research and Visiting Professor in International Social Policy at Chongqing Business and Technology University, China. He is also a non-executive Director, Crown Prosecution Service; Chairman of the Banking Code Standards Board and Deputy Chair of the British Council.
Sir Quentin Thomas, President of the BBFC said:
"The BBFC owes a debt of gratitude to Janet Lewis-Jones and Lord Taylor of Warwick for their dedication and wise counsel over the last ten years and I would like to thank them personally for their support and advice. They will be a hard act to follow, but I am confident that Alison Hastings and Gerard Lemos will bring a depth of highly relevant experience and expertise to the Board when they take up their posts in November. I am very much looking forward to working with them."
The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, will lay an order before both Houses of Parliament proposing to designate Ms Hastings and Mr Lemos under the Video Recordings Act 1984 as the authority responsible for making arrangements for the classification of videos and, where appropriate, video games. This must be done when Parliament is sitting.
Notes to Editors
- The Vice Presidents were appointed by the BBFC's Council of Management after an open competition, with the posts being advertised nationally.
- The appointments have been made now to take into account the Parliamentary process.
The new Vice Presidents will be available for comment once they have taken up their posts in November.
