The long-awaited announcement of journalist William Shawcross as the new proposed chair for the Charity Commission has already triggered concerns. Vibeka Mair looks at the initial reactions – good and bad.

William Shawcross, a respected journalist and author, feels like a good candidate to lead the Charity Commission for the next three years.

He has worked closely with a number of international aid charities. He is chair of Response, and has been a trustee of International Crisis Group and the Disasters Emergency Committee. 

Shawcross’s CV also reflects a strong interest in international politics. He’s written tomes on the Hungarian revolution and the fall of the Shah of Iran; and more controversially has written in support of the invasion of Iraq and Rupert Murdoch.

But most contentiously, as remarked by a couple of charity spectators, in 1996 Shawcross wrote an opinion piece for The Independent, suggesting that if private companies can handle aid for the poor better than the charities, they should replace them.

In his defence, this piece was written nearly 20 years ago, and there are arguments to be made that tasks should be given to whoever can carry them out most effectively on behalf of beneficiaries.

Nevertheless, this and recent works by Shawcross, indicate a man with strong and sometimes provocative opinions. Time will tell if this will impact on his proposed role with the Charity Commission – a role which the Public Administration Select Committee recently suggested would have to be "politically neutral".

For more on Shawcross, whose father was a Labour MP under the leadership of Clement Attlee, his website provides good background, as does this Guardian profile from 2003 – after he was appointed as the official royal biographer for the Queen Mother.

Here is a selection of reactions online to Shawcross’ proposed appointment –