Deirdre Hutton

Who is Deirdre Hutton?

Dame Deirdre Mary Hutton CBE, is a British civil servant, termed by the media as "Queen of the Quango's" and "The great quango hopper".

A former anti-apartheid demonstrator who was once arrested in South Africa, after a short private sector career working for Anchor housing association, she then became a researcher for Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, before becoming its chair.

Since this time she has worked for over 10 major quango's in 30 years. Her first appointment was in 1980 to the Arts Council of Scotland. She has developed her career in championing consumer issues within public sector bodies, particularly in health and food standards and regulation, including: Chair of the Foresight Panel on the Food Chain and Crops for Industry; Chair of the Food Chain Centre; member of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food. She was, until June 2008, the Vice-Chair of the European Food Safety Authority Management Board. She is Honorary Vice-President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Hutton was non-executive Director of the Scottish Borders Health Board and a member of The King's Fund Organizational Audit Council.