Sir John Gillen

The retired judge, who sat on Northern Ireland’s High Court from 1999 and the Court of Appeal from 2014 until his retirement in 2017, will serve for a second term until 30 April 2029.

The independent assessor’s role is to review, on appeal, decisions of the PSNI vetting panel established by the force’s chief constable to assess the suitability of any candidate for appointment as a police trainee or member of PSNI support staff.

Announcing the reappointment, justice minister Naomi Long said: “I welcome Sir John’s reappointment to the post of independent assessor of PSNI recruitment vetting.

“His knowledge and experience will provide an additional level of oversight at this stage of the police recruitment process.

Sir John called to the bar in 1970 and took silk in 1983. He was the author of a review of civil and family justice in Northern Ireland, published in 2017, and the high-profile Gillen report into the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in Northern Ireland, published in 2019.