22 February 2002
His controversial predecessor, Elizabeth Filkin, who finished her term last week, was paid for a four-day week and for the past year has been working five.
Mawer, currently the general secretary of the Church of England synod, starts on March 5. Officially he has been appointed on a salary of £75,000 for a three-day week.
Mawer insisted he would be independent. 'Parliament may appoint me and pay my salary, but they do not own my mind,' he said. 'I will be my own man and make my own decisions.'
He added: 'There will be instances in which people do not observe the standards expected. I took the job because I do believe in high standards in public life.
'We are, at the end of the day, all sinners. It should be no surprise that a churchman talks in those terms.'
PFfeb2002
