47 Facts About Tom Winsor

Sir Thomas Philip Winsor was born on 7 December 1957 and is a British arbitrator and mediator, lawyer, consultant and economic regulatory professional.

Tom Winsor oversaw the collapse of Railtrack, the infrastructure manager for the British rail network and the creation and refinancing of the successor network infrastructure manager, Network Rail.

Tom Winsor left office on 31 March 2022, on the expiry of his last term of office.

Tom Winsor's policing and fire appointments ran together, and expired on the same day.

Tom Winsor is a member of the London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Tom Winsor was born on 7 December 1957 in Broughty Ferry, Dundee to Thomas V M Tom Winsor and Phyllis Bonsor.

Tom Winsor was educated at Grove Academy state comprehensive school in Broughty Ferry.

Tom Winsor practised for a year after that doing mainly litigation in Dundee Sheriff Court.

Tom Winsor received a Diploma in Petroleum Law in 1983.

Tom Winsor became a Writer to the Signet in 1984.

Tom Winsor then moved to London and joined City law firm Norton Rose, specialising in energy law and project finance.

Tom Winsor worked on the design and implementation of the regulatory regime for the privatisation of the electricity industry in Northern Ireland.

Tom Winsor served as chief legal adviser and general counsel to the first Rail Regulator, John Swift QC.

Tom Winsor's secondment lasted two years and he returned to Denton Hall in August 1995.

Tom Winsor immediately announced a new regulatory agenda, one which contemplated holding the privatised railway companies much more closely to account.

Tom Winsor was severely critical of what he found when he took over the office of the Rail Regulator.

Tom Winsor described it as a dysfunctional organisation, which was inward-looking and barely able to do the job it had been given by Parliament.

Tom Winsor's focus was on Railtrack, which he regarded as performing most unsatisfactorily.

Tom Winsor criticised it for 'policies of neglect of its assets and hostility to its customers'.

Tom Winsor saw it as his duty to hold the company more closely and vigorously to account.

Tom Winsor criticised its many failures, including its poor knowledge of the condition, capacity and capability of its assets, rising numbers of broken rails and deteriorating track quality measures, its bad relationship with its train operator customers, its performance shortcomings, poor contracting and procurement strategies and the soaring costs of its projects.

However, the relationship between the two men was courteous and professional, even though Tom Winsor was a severe critic of the philosophy and approach underlying Corbett's leadership of Railtrack.

Prescott and Tom Winsor withheld their support, although they did not do it publicly.

Tom Winsor asked Byers whether the chairman of Railtrack knew all this.

Tom Winsor told Byers he expected Railtrack to apply to him immediately for the promised interim review after hearing this news.

Tom Winsor told Byers of the very severe adverse consequences such a step would involve, but Byers was unmoved.

Tom Winsor suggested to Railtrack that if they were to show that to the administration judge the next day, the administration order would probably not be made.

Tom Winsor maintained media silence on the affair for a month, until 7 November 2001 when he gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee.

Tom Winsor had remarked to a colleague at the Department for Transport Local Government and the Regions that 11 September 2001 may be a good day to bury bad news.

Tom Winsor's reply was that was his statutory remit, and he would not be deterred by irrelevant political considerations in carrying it out.

Tom Winsor later remarked he was glad that for five years he had been able to do the work of nine people.

Tom Winsor's advice was often sought on matters of the design and reform of economic regulatory systems, as well as major infrastructure projects.

On 1 October 2010, the UK Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, announced that Tom Winsor was to carry out a review of police pay and working conditions.

Former West Midlands Chief Constable Sir Edward Crew and Professor Richard Disney of the University of Nottingham supported Tom Winsor in carrying out the review with professional advice.

On 26 June 2012, Tom Winsor appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons for a pre-appointment hearing.

Tom Winsor condemned the leak, which had been from retired police officers, saying they had an 'enduring' duty of confidentiality, even after they left the force.

Tom Winsor's report was submitted to the Home Secretary on 24 August 2022; it was published by the Home Office on 2 September 2022.

Tom Winsor was a witness in the legal action, heard in the High Court in London in June and July 2005.

In 2006 two of Tom Winsor's policies established whilst he was Rail Regulator were challenged in the High Court in London.

In 2013, Tom Winsor was criticised for attending the National Police Memorial Day Service in a uniform similarly styled to that of a standard police uniform, as he has never served in the police force himself.

Tom Winsor said he had worn the uniform as a mark of respect.

Tom Winsor answered the criticism by explaining that the uniform he wore was not a police officer's uniform, and was in fact the uniform of the chief inspector of constabulary.

Tom Winsor told the Home Affairs Select Committee that far from wearing a uniform to which he was not entitled, he wore the uniform to which only he was entitled.

In 2014, Tom Winsor claimed that there were certain communities 'born under other skies' which 'preferred to police themselves'.

Tom Winsor argued that such areas were not 'no go zones' as such for police, but that in the absence of any contact between the persons who lived in such communities and British police, they simply 'won't know what's going on'.

In 2017, Tom Winsor was asked in a live interview on Sky News why he thought there was a lack of police constables willing to move into the role of detective constable or to remain in that role.

Tom Winsor replied: 'Detective work is much more stressful in many respects than being a response officer or a neighbourhood policing officer.