A former Justice Minister has been named as the next chairman of the press watchdog.

the Independent Press Standards Organisation has unveiled Lord Edward Faulks QC to the post, which he will formally take up on New Year’s Day 2020 after incumbent Sir Alan Moses departs.

Lord Faulks, who was made a QC in 1996, has had a long career as a barrister specialising in claims arising from the Human Rights Act, professional and clinical negligence, personal injury, education, police claims and public law.

He was appointed to the House of Lords in 2010 and served as Justice Minister in David Cameron’s government from 2013 to 2016.

Lord Faulks, who is the elder brothe rof the novelist Sebastian Faulks, no longer takes the Conservative whip and now sits as an unaffiliated peer.

Sir Hayden Phillips, chairman of the IPSO Appointments Panel, said: “We are delighted to be able to appoint someone of Edward Faulks’ authority and calibre.

“The strength of the field we were able to attract for the IPSO chairman reflects the progress made in independent self-regulation of the press under the leadership of Sir Alan Moses, the current chairman. I am confident that Edward will be a worthy successor.”

Lord Faulks added: “I am very pleased to be appointed as the next Chairman of IPSO. The freedom of the press is a crucial part of our democracy, but with that freedom comes responsibility.

“The widely publicised abuses which led to the Leveson Report made it essential that there should be an independent and effective regulator, as IPSO is, to hold the press to account.

“I will work for those that feel wronged by the press, holding publishers to account to the standards encompassed in the Editors’ Code.”