LONDON, 02 February 2022, (TON): The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Rt. Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP today announced the appointment of Marie Breen Smyth to the role of Independent Reviewer of National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland.

The appointment will take effect on 1 February 2022 and will last for one year.

The Independent Reviewer of National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland reviews annually the operation of the arrangements for national security matters.

Prior to her appointment Professor Breen Smyth was on the academic staff of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she remains a Visiting Professor.

She was 2002-3 Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow in the United States Institute for Peace. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Surrey since 2015 and was previously Associate Dean. She has held academic positions at Aberystwyth University in Wales, Smith College in Massachusetts and Ulster University in Northern Ireland.

She founded and directed The Institute for Conflict Research in Belfast and initiated The Cost of the Troubles Study, a 30-month investigation into the effects of the Troubles on the population of Northern Ireland. She has held a range of public appointments; as Non-Executive Director of a Health Board; as Chair of the Research Ethics Committee overseeing clinical trials; and as universities representative on the British Council.