Sir Philip Mawer was the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons.He or she is appointed by a Resolution of the House of Commons and works a four-day week.- Tasks :...

 from 2002 until 2008 when he became an independent advisor on Ministerial standards to Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

. He was previously Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England

General Synod of the Church of England

The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...

.

Early life

Sir Philip Mawer was born in Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

 in 1947. He was educated at Hull Grammar School

Hull Grammar School

Hull Grammar School was an independent secondary school in Hull, England, founded in 1486 by Dr. John Alcock. The school merged with Hull High School to form Hull Collegiate School in 2005.- History :The seventeenth oldest independent school in the U.K...

 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

Douglas Hurd

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....

. 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.

General Synod of the Church of England

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

Queen's Birthday Honours

The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...

 for his work at the Synod.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Sir Philip 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

George Galloway

George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...

 which ultimately led to Galloway's suspension from the House of Commons for 18 days.

Independent advisor to Gordon Brown

In January 2008, Sir Philip was appointed as an independent advisor to Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

. investigating alleged breaches in the ministerial code of conduct. In May 2009, he conducted an investigation into allegations by the Daily Telegraph that Justice Minister, Shahid Malik

Shahid Malik

Shahid Rafique Malik is a British Labour Party politician who became the Member of Parliament for Dewsbury in 2005 after defeating Conservative Sayeeda Warsi, now Conservative Chair Baroness Warsi and remained so till 2010 when Conservative candidate Simon Reevell won Dewsbury...

, had paid a below market rent for his home and constituency office. Malik was cleared by Sir Philip'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

Department for Communities and Local Government

The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...

.

Other roles

Since summer 2009, Sir Philip has been Chairman of the Professional Regulation Executive Committee of the Actuarial Profession.

Personal life

Sir Philip is married with three children. He plays the part of a dame

Pantomime dame

A pantomime dame is a traditional character in British pantomime. It is a continuation of en travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. They are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting 'butch' in women's clothing...

in the amateur pantomime in his local village.