The Commissioners for Standards
Martin Jelley QPM DL
Martin has worked in policing for 33 years, serving in three English forces before being appointed as Chief Constable of Warwickshire in 2015. As Chief Constable, Martin led Warwickshire Police for just over six years, an organisation of just over 2,000 officers and staff. His tenure saw the transformation and rebuild of the force, as well as overseeing the force’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martin’s operational, as well as organisational background is broad. Highlights include a range of senior detective roles, secondment to the Department of International Development to improve policing in Malawi, and being the overall Gold Commander in charge of policing the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
Additionally, he was appointed as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Vetting in 2010, and the NPCC lead for the Professional Standards and Ethics Portfolio in 2015, both roles he held until retirement from Policing in 2021. As NPCC Lead for Vetting, he led for policing the introduction nationally of Biometric Vetting in 2012, the creation (in conjunction with the College of Policing) of the first Police National Vetting Code of Practice 2017 and the initial National Vetting Police Authorised Professional Practice 2017, refreshed in 2019 and 2021.
As NPCC Professional Standards Lead he worked closely with NPCC colleagues, the Home Office and Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) to introduce successfully the new Police Misconduct Regulations 2020 for England and Wales, which have fundamentally changed the approach around how police misconduct and complaints are managed. He has over a decade of experience chairing police misconduct hearings.
Martin was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service in the 2016 New Year’s Honours, and was additionally awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Birmingham in 2019. He is also a Trustee of the British Police Symphony Orchestra.
Akbar Khan
Karimullah Akbar Khan is a qualified Barrister-at-law (England and Wales) and Attorney-at-Law (New York State). He is a graduate of the Universities of Cambridge and Reading.
A qualified workplace investigator for bullying, harassment, discrimination and other serious misconduct, he practised at the English Bar for many years, including working overseas for the United Nations Organisation in the fields of international law and human rights before joining the UK Diplomatic Service during which time he occupied several legal and policy roles, including as Head of International Law at the British Embassy, The Hague representing British legal interests before the United Nations International Courts and Tribunals.
A former Legal Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, in 2012 he led the high-level international fact-finding investigation to the Republic of the Maldives to establish the circumstances behind an alleged political coup against President Nasheed. During his tenure at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, he had the privilege of being a Board Level Champion for ParliREACH, Parliament’s Workplace Equality Network established to increase awareness and appreciation of race, ethnicity and cultural heritage issues.
Akbar currently serves as a statutory Legally Qualified Chairperson for several police regulatory misconduct bodies and also as the first Head of Judiciary for the International Rugby League (IRL). As Head of Judiciary, he is the most senior legal figure in the sport covering both the elite and grassroots game and is responsible for managing IRL's revisions of its misconduct rules, both on and off the field, and leads relevant misconduct cases.
Akbar is also the Statutory ‘Independent’ Person for Surrey County Council and assists in promoting high standards of conduct by elected, appointed and co-opted Members of the County Council by impartially advising the Council when an allegation is made that involves a potential breach of the Member Code of Conduct. He is also a non-executive member of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Appointment Committee which is responsible for making appointments or re-appointments to the FRC Tribunal Panel from which Tribunals can be formed.