James McEwen has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
James joined the Ministry of Justice in 2016 and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer. He brings extensive experience from a career spanning multiple government departments including the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
In his new role, James will oversee the operational delivery of prison, probation and youth custody services across England and Wales. He will lead work to fix the prisons capacity crisis, reduce pressure on probation, improve youth custody, and ensure that punishments handed down to offenders cut crime and streets are made safer as part of the Plan for Change.
James succeeds Phil Copple CB, who is leaving the agency after a distinguished 35-year career that began when he joined the Prison Service as a prison officer in 1990. He has served as Director General Operations of HMPPS since August 2022 and took on interim responsibility as Chief Executive Officer at a crucial time in April this year.
Throughout his career, Phil has held numerous leadership roles including Governor of HMP Frankland and Director General of Prisons from 2019 to 2022 before becoming Director General of Operations. He has brought extensive operational experience across both prisons and probation services to his leadership of HMPPS.
James will take up the position as Chief Executive Officer from 13 October 2025.
