Speaker biogs
Chris Bryant
Sir Chris Bryant was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in July 2024. He was elected as the MP for Rhondda and Ogmore (previously Rhondda) in June 2001. Prior to becoming an MP, he was an ordained priest, served on Hackney Borough Council and was the Head of European Affairs for the BBC. He has published several books on British political and parliamentary history.
John-george Nicholson
John-george Nicholson is a care-experienced advocate with a deep commitment to improving access to care records, having requested his own care file in both 1999 and 2023. He served as a Researcher by Experience on UCL’s Memory – Identity – Rights in Records – Access (MIRRA) project, which aims to enhance access rights and promote understanding of identity in care records. John-george works at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He lives in South London with his wife and two children.
Isa Jaye
Isa has worked as a Data Protection Manager and Data Protection Officer for 20 years. She has managed an Access to Records service in local government, and the charitable sector, and provides subject access request consultancy services to local authorities and nonprofit organisations. Isa is a Fellow of Information Privacy, the Chair of the Post Care Forum and a Trustee at the Care Leavers Association.
Anna
Anna is a college student in Yorkshire and a member of the Childnet Youth Advisory Board. She is interested in how young people engage with the internet and social media.
Childnet is a UK-based charity who empower children, young people and those who support them in their online lives. Its missions is to work with others to make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people.
Neil Lawrence
Neil Lawrence is the inaugural DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge where he is also the academic lead of AI@Cam, the University’s flagship mission on AI. He is also a Senior AI Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield. His book, ‘The Atomic Human,’ was released in 2024 and delves into what AI means for our identity and society.
David Woode
David Woode is the crime correspondent for The Times, joining in September 2022. Often found at crime scenes and on court press benches across the country, David speaks to victims, campaigners, policing leaders and policy experts to understand the causes of crime. Robbery, knife crime and the role of technology in preventing crime are among his areas of focus.
In December 2023, David's article for The Times Magazine about his personal and professional experiences of police stop and search received widespread acclaim.
John Edwards
John Edwards began his term as UK Information Commissioner in January 2022. He was previously a solicitor and barrister in New Zealand, and from February 2014 to December 2021 he was New Zealand Privacy Commissioner.
Since taking office as UK Information Commissioner, John has set out his vision for the ICO to be a regulator that empowers people to confidently share their information to use the services that drive the economy, empowers organisations to use information responsibly to innovate and empowers people to hold government to account.