Mon, May 19, 2025
The Rt. Hon. Sir Gary Hickinbottom appointed as the new President of the National Safeguarding Panel
We are delighted to announce that The Rt. Hon. Sir Gary Hickinbottom has been appointed as President of the National Safeguarding Panel (NSP) which supports National Governing Bodies (NGBs) in the professional management of safeguarding complaints and concerns.
Sir Gary has been a member of Sport Resolutions Panel since 2021 and succeeded Stephen Bellamy-James KC as President on 1 April 2025.
The NSP is operated by Sport Resolutions in accordance with its own procedural rules and is entirely independent of all sports. It works in tandem with NGB safeguarding systems and provides professional support in cases of significant complexity or seriousness, particularly where there are risks to children, young people, adults at risk or to the reputation of a sport.
The NSP members are appointed to two key services i) conducting independent investigations and reviews into safeguarding complaints and concerns; and ii) providing independent arbitration in place of a NGB’s disciplinary or appeals panel.
Richard Harry, Sport Resolutions Chief Executive, said “It is a great pleasure to appoint Sir Gary Hickinbottom as President of the NSP. His distinguished judicial career and deep understanding of complex regulatory matters make him exceptionally well suited to lead the Panel in its vital safeguarding work. I must also give thanks to and recognise the dedication of the outstanding and outgoing Stephen Bellamy-James KC, who has been President of the NSP since its inception in 2013.”
Sir Gary Hickinbottom said “I am honoured and delighted to have been appointed to lead the work of the National Safeguarding Panel and add my thanks to Stephen Bellamy-James KC for the firm foundations he has laid for this work. I will build on them to ensure that the Panel contributes, positively and effectively, to the sustainability of sport by enabling all to participate in whatever sport they choose in a safe environment.”
Biography
The Rt Hon Sir Gary Hickinbottom is a former High Court and Court of Appeal Judge, who retired from full-time work in the Court of Appeal in 2021 to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into corruption and governance in the British Virgin Islands, which reported in April 2022. He is currently a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Bermuda and the President of Welsh Tribunals. In 2024, he was appointed Chair of the independent panel charged with the assessment of the pecuniary losses of claimants whose convictions arising out of the Post Office Horizon scandal have been overturned.
A significant amount of Gary’s work as a judge was sport-orientated with a wide range of subjects, including football club funding, the development of football and other sports grounds, and liability for injuries suffered whilst playing sport. He is particularly experienced in sports safeguarding and disciplinary, regularly chairing hearings as well as managing the work of safeguarding and disciplinary panels. He is currently the President of the National Safeguarding Panel and the Chair of the International Tennis Federation Safeguarding Panel, as well as being Chair of the Judicial Panels for the Premier League, the Lawn Tennis Association and British Wrestling, a Chair of the Appeal Board of the British Horseracing Association Judicial Panel, and a member of the National Anti-Doping Panel, the FA Safeguarding Review Panel, and the Sport Resolutions Arbitrators’ Panel.
Gary is a Trustee of the Mercian Multi-Academy Trust, where he is the Lead Trustee for Disadvantaged Pupils.
