Rosemary Agnew

Who is Rosemary Agnew?

Rosemary Agnew is the current Scottish Information Commissioner. She took up office as the second Scottish Information Commissioner on 1 May 2012. As Scottish Information Commissioner she is responsible for enforcing and promoting Freedom of Information Act 2002

Prior to appointment Rosemary was Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission an appointment that she took up on 26 October 2010. Prior to her post in the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission she was an Assistant Ombudsman at the Local Government Ombudsman.

Controversy broke out following one of her decisions which required the Scottish Ministers to reveal whether or not they had sought legal advice over the position of an independent Scotland in the European Union. Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon MSP told the Scottish Parliament chamber on Tuesday 23 October 2012 that the Scottish Government had only now sought legal advice on the position of an independent Scotland in the European Union. As a result of this row Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to determine whether he had broken the Ministerial Code.