Peter Clarke joined the Metropolitan Police in 1977 after graduating in Law from Bristol University.  He served in a variety of uniformed and detective roles in London, and in1997 became commander of the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. In May 2002 he was appointed as head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch at New Scotland Yard and National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations, leading the investigation into all acts of terrorism in the UK and against British interests overseas, including the Bali bombings in 2002, the London bombings of 2005, the plot to bring down transatlantic airliners in 2006, and the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. In 2006 he became the first head of the newly formed Counter Terrorism Command. In 2009 he was appointed by the Prime Minister to be a member of the UK national Security Forum, created to advise Government on the implementation of the UK National Security Strategy.  In addition to holding a number of advisory and consultative roles in the private sector, he was a non-executive Director of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency from 2009-13.    He became a member of the Board of the Charity Commission in 2013 and in 2014 he was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education to be the Education Commissioner for Birmingham with a specific remit to investigate alleged Islamist infiltration in schools.  He became HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on 1 February 2016, holding that role until November 2020.