The former information commissioner is expected to take legal action against a woman at the ICO who raised concerns about his conduct earlier this year, the science secretary has told a Commons committee.
Liz Kendall said she was “appalled” that John Edwards is preparing to serve legal papers on one of the women who flagged his behaviour to the data watchdog.
“I don't know who this woman is, but by reporting her concerns, she supported the independent investigation that upheld multiple allegations made against him,” Kendall told the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on 8 July.
“I have reached out as best I can to her and said they need to know that they will always be listened to without being put at personal risk. And quite frankly, I'm appalled by that behaviour.”
Edwards resigned as the UK’s information commissioner last month after an independent workplace investigation found "there was a case to answer" after his behaviour "fell short of the conduct expected from a public official".
Kendall told the science committee she had been "absolutely appalled" at the independent investigator’s findings of "sexual harassment and bullying".
"The women who’ve spoken up have been incredibly brave," she added.
Kendall also announced an independent review into the culture, accountability and governance of the ICO. She said: “I take very seriously what’s happened there and I will do everything I can to try and put this right."
A spokesperson for the ICO said the review will be commissioned jointly by the data watchdog and DSIT and will respond to the investigation's findings, "no matter how challenging".
The spokesperson added: "As the independent investigation found, John Edwards' conduct was unacceptable and fell well short of the standards we expect and of the safe, respectful working environment every member of staff at every level in an organisation deserves.
"Enhancing our workplace support is an ever-present commitment and we're determined to work with our staff to ensure something like this never happens again at the ICO."
Edwards was approached for comment.
Behaviour 'completely at odds'
Edwards stepped back from his role at the end of February while the independent probe was ongoing. During that time, he continued receiving his £200,000 annual salary. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology didn’t answer whether it will be seeking to recover any of that money following the investigation’s findings.
In a LinkedIn post announcing his resignation on 19 June, Edwards said that although he disagreed with how the investigation had been conducted, he accepted that his position "ha[d] become untenable".
He said: "From the time the investigation was launched, I have accepted that there have been occasions where I exercised poor judgement and made attempts at humour that were inappropriate and caused offence."
Responding to Edwards' comments, Kendall said on LinkedIn she had "seen evidence of the vulgar and highly sexualised language that was used in his interactions with his staff" and that she was "extremely concerned that he continues to describe these incidents as misplaced humour".
In a statement published on 19 June, the ICO said that Edwards’ actions "were completely at odds with our values" and that the public body doesn’t "accept sexual harassment, bullying or discrimination in any form".
It added: “We're committed to ensuring a safe culture where all staff are able to raise concerns, knowing they will be taken seriously and trusting that action will be taken where appropriate.”
During the science committee session, Kendall also said that DSIT will start recruitment for the chair of the new Information Commission, the body that will replace the ICO following a restructure, next week. Kendall added that a new board of non-executive directors, “the majority of whom will be women”, will be announced “shortly”.
The Information Commission will be led by a board made up of a chair, a chief executive and seven non-executive directors. This new structure will be similar to other regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority.