I am delighted to be appointed as Honorary Professor at the Policy Institute at King’s. Rigorous policymaking that connects with the public it serves is needed now more than ever. I look forward to working with the institute’s brilliant team in the coming months.
Baroness Deborah Mattinson
27 February 2026
New visiting and honorary faculty members appointed across Policy Institute
The appointments, as well as renewals of existing members, deepen connections with government and policymakers
Current and former government officials, Sir Keir Starmer’s former Director of Strategy, and the Chair of the Conservative Policy Forum are among those joining the Policy Institute at King’s as new members of its visiting and honorary faculty.
The new appointments – which also include figures from academia and journalism – will each have roles across the various units that make up the institute, including the Strand Group, School for Government, and the NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit.
Based in the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, they join a rich community that includes Baroness Louise Casey, Baroness Margaret Hodge, Lord Jo Johnson, and Lord David Willetts.
Honorary appointments are unpaid positions conferred on individuals of distinction in their profession who will make a contribution to the university community. Visiting appointments are similarly unpaid roles for those with more of an educational and research background, who are again additional to our core staff and provide valuable contributions to our research and public engagement.
Policy Institute central team
New appointments
Baroness Deborah Mattinson, Honorary Professor
Deborah was appointed Director of Strategy to Sir Keir Starmer in July 2021, playing a key role in the Labour party’s electoral success three years later before stepping down in 2024. Her previous roles include advising Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair, and serving as chief pollster to Gordon Brown as Chancellor and then Prime Minister.
John Penrose, Honorary Professor
John served as a Member of Parliament between 2005 and 2024 and is currently Chairman of the Conservative Policy Forum. He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, and Minister of State for Northern Ireland.
Kings is a wonderful centre for challenging, influential ideas and thought leadership. I'm delighted to be part of it.
John Penrose
Dr Roberto Foa, Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Roberto is Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge, co-founder of the Centre for the Future of Democracy, co-founder of the Sephira Institute and elected Executive Committee member of the World Values Survey. His research examines public opinion, governance, and the use of novel data sources to address policy challenges.
Continuing appointments
- Lord George Robertson, former Secretary General of NATO and former Secretary of State for Defence (Honorary Professor)
- Baroness Sally Morgan, former Director of Government Relations in 10 Downing Street and now Chair of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Honorary Professor)
- Glyn Davis, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and former Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Australia (Visiting Professor)
- David Halpern, President Emeritus of the Behavioural Insights Team and former Chief Analyst in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit (Honorary Professor)
- Will Moy, CEO of the Campbell Collaboration and former CEO of Full Fact (Visiting Senior Research Fellow)
School for Government
New appointments
Dame Tamara Finkelstein, Honorary Professor
Tamara was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between 2019 and 2025. She previously led the Building Safety Programme after the Grenfell Tower fire and has held senior roles across government, including Deputy Head of Sure Start and Director General for Community Care at the Department of Health and Social Care.
Good government and a healthy democracy depends on building institutions that support the highest quality learning and discussion on what great policy-making and delivery for citizens looks like. King’s is at the cutting edge of this work with superb teaching and great partnerships in the UK government and beyond. It’s an honour to make a contribution in this role at the School of Government.
Dame Tamara Finkelstein
Lauren Griffin, Visiting Research Fellow
Lauren is currently Head of Unit (International Tax) at HM Treasury, having previously held senior negotiation roles on both tax and trade at the Treasury and Department for International Trade.
Evie Monnington-Taylor, Visiting Research Fellow
Evie is a Senior Advisor at the Behavioural Insights Team North America, working with police departments, municipal governments, and state agencies on employment, policing, crime, and justice.
Continuing appointments
- Ian Forber, former Director of the Government Policy Profession and former Director of Ajax Coordination at the Ministry of Defence (Honorary Professor)
- Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang, Founder and Director of Lighthouse, a charity committed to improving outcomes for looked-after children in care (Visiting Senior Research Fellow)
The Strand Group
New appointments
Emran Mian, Honorary Professor
Emran is Permanent Secretary at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. He was previously Director General for Regeneration at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, from September 2021 to July 2023.
Gordon Corera, Honorary Professor
Gordon is host of The Rest is Classified podcast, an author and BBC commentator. He is a leading authority on global intelligence and security, having spent two decades as the BBC’s Security Correspondent, a role in which he reported on pivotal events including the Snowden revelations, the Skripal poisoning, and the evolution of cyber warfare.
Suzannah Brecknell, Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Suzannah is the Editor of Civil Service World and has a particular interest in questions of accountability and civil service reform, as well as leading on several data-based investigations and special reports.
Jessica Pulay, Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Jessica is Chief Executive Officer of the UK Debt Management Office, appointed to the role in 2024 following nine years as the DMO’s Co-Head of Policy and Markets.
Continuing appointments
- Lord Michael Barber, former Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, 10 Downing Street (Honorary Professor)
- Gareth Davies, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business and Trade (Honorary Professor)
- Stuart Glassborow, Former Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (Visiting Senior Research Fellow).
- Commodore John Aitken, former Deputy Director of Submarines in the Royal Navy (Visiting Senior Research Fellow)
NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce
New appointments
Dr Anne Gordon, Visiting Professor
Anne is Head of Clinical Innovation Research at NHS England’s New Hospital Programme, which aims to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030. She is a consultant clinical academic and allied health professional with a 20+ year international career spanning tertiary care, academic research, healthcare education, and system-wide policy leadership.
Continuing appointments
- Professor Cheryl Regehr, former Vice-President and Provost of the University of Toronto (Visiting Professor)
- John Woolham, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Public Health and Community Care at the University of Hertfordshire (Visiting Senior Research Fellow)
We are delighted to welcome our new honorary and visiting faculty members to the Policy Institute at King’s College London, and to renew the appointments of colleagues who continue to make such an important contribution to our work. Their collective expertise is a major asset to our research and public engagement, and they play a key role in strengthening the relationship between academia, policy and practice.
Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute