Nick Wilkinson
 Nick Wilkinson  | |
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Rear-Admiral Nick Wilkinson (born 1941) is the retired DA-Notice Secretary (1999-2005) at the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (DPBAC) which provides the commercially-controlled media with guidance on covering security matters.[1]
Background
He was educated at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth and at Cheltenham College.[2]
Past positions
Wilkinson was a Trustee at Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College and an Historian at the Cabinet Office.
Lockerbie DA-Notice
On 10 March 2001, Aoude Media reported:
- British Admiral Nick Wilkinson has been accused by Patrick Haseldine of having told the BBC to quit mentioning South Africa in connection with the investigation of the Lockerbie bombing. Mr Haseldine, once himself employed by the Queens Service, has been posting several messages and essays on a possible South African connection in the downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie. Now, Admiral Wilkinson strikes back with this message:
- "On 14 February 2001 Patrick Haseldine alleged on this site that Admiral Nick Wilkinson, Secretary of the UK's D-Notice Committee, had reminded the BBC of the complete ban on any mention of South Africa in connection with Lockerbie. Nick Wilkinson wishes to make clear that he has not been in touch with the BBC or any other part of the media in connection with alleged links between South Africa and Lockerbie, nor is he aware of any 'ban', nor would he have felt it necessary anyway to offer advice on any of the matters listed by Mr Haseldine as 'deleted references', nor did Mr Haseldine contact him to verify his allegations about D-Notice involvement before putting the incorrect information on the internet."[3]
PCC member
Nick Wilkinson joined the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) on 1 July 2005, replacing Arthur Hearnden. He was expected to be followed a year later by Ian Nichol, 50, an accountant and member of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, who would replace Bishop John Waine. The PCC had 10 public or "lay" members without any connections to newspapers or magazines alongside its seven representatives from the newspaper industry. They were appointed by an independent appointments commission following public advertisement and interview:
- "In Nick Wilkinson and Ian Nichol, the appointments commission has found two rigorously independent individuals who will bring a great deal of experience, and differing perspectives, to the commission's work," said the PCC chairman, Sir Christopher Meyer.
The PCC's seven press members were Roger Alton, the editor of The Observer; Edmund Curran, the editor of the Belfast Telegraph; Paul Dacre, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail; Jane Ennis, the editor of Now magazine, Peter Hill, the editor of the Daily Express; Paul Horrocks, the editor of the Manchester Evening News and Charles McGhee, the editor of the Glasgow Evening Times.[4]
The Press Complaints Commission closed on 8 September 2014 and has been replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).[5]
Currently
Nick Wilkinson is a Visiting Lecturer at Marlborough Summer School (Visiting Tutor Advanced Studies in England). He is Chairman, The Savile Club.
