Press regulator appoints TFL’s Matt Brown and NIPSO’s Michaela McAleer to Board

The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has today announced the appointment of Matt Brown, Director of News and External Relations at TfL, and Michaela McAleer, of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, to its lay-majority Board.

Brown runs TFL’s media and government relations, stakeholder engagement and corporate communications. He previously worked for the Mayor of London's Press Office, the children's charity Barnardo's, and the online political think tank openDemocracy. He is a Fellow of the Public Relations and Communications Association, and in 2020, was awarded the Mark Mellor Award for Outstanding Contribution to the PR Industry.

McAleer is the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Local Government Standards and Acting Deputy Ombudsman at the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. Since 2018 she has investigated alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Northern Ireland Councillors and led the first ‘Own Investigation’ undertaken by a UK Ombudsman under new statutory powers introduced in April 2018.  She is also a member of the Administrative Justice Council for the UK.

Both were appointed by the independent IPSO Appointments Panel, chaired by Lord Triesman, as lay members.

Matt Brown said:

“An independent, healthy, free and trusted press is one of the vital cornerstones of our democracy. There are both challenges and opportunities ahead and I look forward to supporting the work of IPSO at this incredibly important time”.

Michaela McAleer said:

“I look forward to be being part of delivering on IPSO’s vision, strategy and, most importantly, its values. A free press, underpinned by robust self- regulation, has never been more important as we continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic and the constantly developing digital world.”

Chairman of IPSO Lord Faulks QC said:

“I’m delighted to welcome both Matt and Michaela to the Board. Their wealth of experience will further strengthen the organisation and support IPSO’s continued delivery of robust, independent press regulation.”