This week's key appointments

Friday, 20 August 2004 12:00 AM

After last week's excitement surrounding the distribution of portfolios on the new European Commission, things have quietened down considerably this week.

Perhaps the most interesting appointment of the week occurred in the Metropolitan Police Service, where along with three other senior officers, Brian Paddick was appointed as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner.

As the former commander of Lambeth police, Mr Paddick was at the centre of the virtual decriminsalisation of cannabis in the borough. He was forced to stand down in 2002, when a former lover told the press that Mr Paddick had smoked cannabis himself. However, a year later in November 2003, Mr Paddick had bounced back and was appointed as Acting Deputy Assistant Commissioner, and many were talking of the openly gay modernising officer as a future Chief Constable.

In addition, Waqar Azmi OBE has been appointed as Adviser on Diversity at the Cabinet Office.

Announcing the appointment, Sir Andrew Turnbull, the Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, said, " Increasing diversity across the Civil Service is crucial to us. An open and diverse Civil Service enables us to achieve excellence in policy development and service delivery. Waqar Azmi's appointment will enhance our efforts to create a Civil Service that is truly representative of the society we serve, including at the senior
Levels."

The new role will be key in supporting departments' progress towards new targets for increasing representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people at senior levels in the Civil Service announced as
part of the 2004 Spending Review.

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