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Sir David Lees, the chairman of Tate & Lyle, the sugar producer, is to succeed Sir John Parker in June as chairman of the Bank of England’s Court of Directors, its ruling board. The appointment of Sir David to the part-time post, which pays £30,000 a year, plus expenses, is expected to raise some eyebrows. When the vacancy for the high-profile role emerged, in the midst of present global financial crisis, there were calls for the Treasury to ensure that it was filled by a figure with in-depth knowledge of, and expertise in, the financial sector and the City. Sir David’s background is in industry rather than in the financial services sector. As well as his role in Tate & Lyle, Sir David is deputy chairman of QinetiQ, the defence company spun out of the Ministry of Defence. An accountant by profession, Sir David began his career with GKN, the British engineering company, in 1970, and rose through the ranks to serve 16 years as chairman. He previously served as a nonexecutive director of the Bank of England between March 1991 and May 1999. Knighted in 1991, he is expected to commit about five days a month to the Bank post. The application process was surrounded by controversy, and the Government had to readvertise the post after failing initially to find a suitable candidate to succeed Sir John, who had served for five years. Among rejected candidates was Gerry Grimstone, the chairman of Standard Life and of Candover, the listed private equity house, who helped the Thatcher Government to privatise British Telecom and British Gas. Mr Grimstone is believed to have been rejected at least in part because of his background in the financial services sector, amid a still mounting backlash over the role of bankers in creating the conditions that triggered global financial turmoil and led to the present world recession. The Treasury is thought to have been edgy about appointing any figure who might be seen as tainted, even indirectly, by the financial firestorm at a time when public anger about bankers and the financial industry generally remains intense. The court advises the Bank of England on all aspects of the economy apart from the setting of interest rates, which by law is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee. Under the new Bank of England Act, the court – previously chaired by the Bank’s Governor – will be given a strengthened role in policing the actions of the Governor and his top executive team, and particularly in supervising the Bank’s role in acting as overall watchdog for the stability of the UK financial system. Composed of prominent national figures, alongside the Governor, his deputies and the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, the court is being streamlined, with seven fewer members, in an effort to make it a more powerful and effective body in overseeing the Bank’s operations. To pave the way for this, last year all 16 nonexecutive members of the court resigned, including such well-known business people as Arun Sarin, outgoing chief executive of Vodafone. Only nine are to remain to fit the Chancellor’s plans for a slimmed-down group. Current court members include Brendan Barber, the General Secretary of the TUC, and Peter Jay, the former economics editor of the BBC and of The Timesand former British ambassador to the United States.