St Mary’s Associate Professor Appointed to Home Office Biometrics and Forensic Ethics Group

Bioethics and Medical Law Associate Professor at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU), Matt James, has been appointed by the Home Secretary to the Home Office’s Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group.

The group is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office, that provides independent ethical advice to the Home Office and its ministers on matters related to the collection, use, and retention of biometric and forensic material, data sets, and new technologies.

Matt joins 15 other members in the group, with members agreed as public appointments in accordance with guidance issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Alongside his Associate Professorship, Matt is Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Emerging Technologies (CBET) at St Mary’s, as well as Course Lead for the MA Bioethics and Medical Law and MA Theology programmes.

Over the past 15 years Matt has worked within Westminster and Whitehall in bioethics and public policy. He previously worked as a Parliamentary researcher for an International Affairs shadow Minister, before having the role of a senior researcher for several Westminster based think tanks focusing on the ethical and social implications of emerging technologies.

Speaking on his appointment, Matt said, “From face recognition to fingerprint scans, DNA matching to voice recognition, the use of biometrics is becoming more common place in all of our daily lives. With these advances come profound ethical implications for us to consider as they impact upon our lifestyle and habits. For instance, what do we mean by identity in the 21st century? Who has access to my data? Is privacy a thing of the past? I relish the opportunity to be able to use my expertise in bioethics and emerging technologies in this new role to help advise government and shape the ethical decision-making process.”