Sir Alistair Graham is to be the next chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Number 10 has announced.

The prime minister said on Thursday that the former head of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission would replace former chairman Sir Nigel Wicks.

Sir Nigel had a reputation for delivering tough criticism and hard hitting reports, resulting in some recommendations being ignored by the government.

He oversaw a key investigation into special advisers in the wake of the resignations of spindoctors Jo Moore and Martin Sixsmith from their Whitehall posts in 2002.

And Sir Alistair takes over as the committee launches an investigation into whether the drive to raise standards in public life has resulted in excessive bureaucracy.

Progress

Sir Alistair, who is to become chairman on April 26, said it was a "great honour" to take on the role.

"This is an exciting time for the committee. Our current inquiry into how deeply embedded high standards of conduct are across the public sector will assess progress and determine how standards can be improved," he said.

"I believe there is scope for standards to be improved without adding unnecessary bureaucracy or a creating a 'box-ticking' culture. This will be the aim of the committee over the coming months."

Having served as a committee member since last October, Sir Alistair will be familiar with many of the areas with which the watchdog is concerned.

He was chairman of the Police Complaints Authority until April 1 and will also take on the part time role of chairman of the British Transport Police Authority.

He was knighted in the millennium honours list for services to the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland, where he was chairman from 1997 to 2000.

It was also announce that Dr Elizabeth Vallance, currently chairman of the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards, will be appointed as a member of the committee.