3 The candidates
10. In the opinion of the panel, all those nominated
met the minimum requirements for appointment as a nominated Commissioner.
The panel's recommendations were therefore founded on its assessment
of the extent to which each person nominated met the desirable
requirements and on the instruction given to it to have regard
to the overall composition of the Commission's Board, bearing
in mind the need for the Commission to reflect so far as possible
the diversity of the United Kingdom and its regions.
11. In accordance with the legislation, the panel
was invited to recommend one person from among those put forward
by the leaders of each of the three main parties, and one from
among those put forward by the leaders of all the smaller parties,
giving a total of four recommendations.
12. Following the conclusion of the Panel's work
one of the recommended candidates, Baroness Gale, withdrew her
candidacy. When the Speaker's Committee met to consider the panel's
report, therefore, it agreed to put forward the remaining three
candidates on the panel's shortlist together with Roy Kennedy
(now Lord Kennedy of Southwark), a second candidate nominated
by the Labour Party, who had also been found by the panel to meet
the requirements for the post.
13. The Committee is satisfied that the selection
process was rigorous and was conducted with all due regard to
the requirements of thoroughness, fairness and propriety. The
Committee is grateful to Dame Denise Platt and her fellow Panel
members.
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