New interim Director General appointed to HMPO
Tyson Hepple has been appointed as the interim Director General of Her Majesty’s Passport Office
Mr Hepple, formerly the Home Office Director of International Criminality and Extradition, begins his new role today (Monday 10 November) and will lead the organisation until a permanent Director General is appointed.
Former Chief Executive Paul Pugh will retain his responsibility as Registrar General until a permanent successor is appointed.
The Home Office Permanent Secretary Mark Sedwill said:
I am pleased to announce that Tyson Hepple will take over as acting Director General of Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO). Tyson played a key role in helping the organisation during the summer and I am grateful to him for stepping in to this new role. A recruitment campaign to identify a long term replacement has begun and we hope to appoint the new Director General by the end of the year.
I’d like to take this opportunity again to thank Paul and all the staff at HMPO for the huge effort put in to responding to what was a very challenging situation.
HMPO ceased to be an Executive Agency from 1 October 2014 when it was brought into the Home Office and made directly accountable to Ministers. This followed two reviews, commissioned by the Home Secretary, to ensure HMPO is run as efficiently and accountably as possible and there could be no repeat of the problems experienced earlier this year during exceptional demand for passports. It was also recommended that the post of Chief Executive be abolished and replaced by a Director General for HMPO to reflect the changes to the organisation.