Christine Elliott has been appointed by the Home Secretary as the interim Chair of the CoP, following her nomination by the College Board.

Ms Elliot is taking over the role from outgoing Chair, Millie Banerjee, who had been the permanent Chair since November 2017.

Ms Elliot was appointed a college Non-Executive Director in 2015 and is the college’s first Senior Independent Director.

She has chaired the Audit and Risk, and the Nominations and Remuneration Committees and currently chairs the college Regulatory Consultative Committee.

She is also Chair of the Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates fifteen professions; and is an independent lay member of the Editors' Code Committee, which reviews and revises the Code used by all UK press regulators.

Ms Elliot said: “We all rely on brave and talented police officers and staff to protect us in increasingly complex circumstances and I’m looking forward to helping strengthen our connection with the frontline and deliver important pieces of work to support the service.”

Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, College of Policing CEO, said: "I am delighted to welcome Christine as the new interim Chair of the College of Policing. She brings a wealth of experience from the public and private sector and I know how passionate she is about working with people across policing to continue building a professional body which supports all officers and staff.

“Since being appointed as our first independent director five years ago Christine has chaired and been a member of a number of different College committees so I have witnessed first-hand her commitment to ensuring the police workforce have the knowledge and skills they need to keep people safe.

“I know she will use her insight and expertise to support me and colleagues across the College to promote improvements in policing.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Christine will be a strong and effective interim Chair of the College of Policing.

“Her experience gained across a variety of senior leadership roles will help the College advance the professional development of all police officers across the country as this government recruits 20,000 new officers and ensures that policing prioritises reducing crime.”

The college said that recruitment for the permanent Chair will be undertaken in the coming months.