Most of Anne’s career has involved prisons, criminal justice and human rights.  She was Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales for nine years, and until recently was the national chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards of volunteers who monitor prisons in England and Wales. Both of these bodies are part of the UK’s National Preventive Mechanism to prevent abuse in custodial settings. She has also visited and reported on prisons overseas, in the Caribbean, US and Europe. For six years, she chaired the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which among other things investigates deaths in police custody and serious complaints about police conduct.

In the voluntary sector, she chaired the Koestler Trust, which exhibits arts by people in custody, including British prisoners held overseas, and she’s currently the chair of the Independent Custody Visitors Association, supporting volunteers visiting those in police custody.  Earlier in her career, she was the director of JUSTICE, the law reform and human rights charity, and before that was the CEO of JCWI (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants), which advises and campaigns on immigration and asylum law.