Detective Chief Inspector, Specialist Crime Department at the Metropolitan Police Service. Following promotion to Detective Chief Inspector in 2003 he became Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) on the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force. Gave evidence to the Inquiry of press “intrusion” when working on Operation Fishpool in the case of the Stephen Lawrence murder.
At the time of giving evidence, Sir Hugh was President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. He retired from the role in 2015. Previously, he had served with Metropolitan Police Service, including taking part in the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. From 2002 to 2009, Sir Hugh was Chief Constable of the Police Service in Northern Ireland. His testimony included the reflection that he had found the Press Complaints Commission "powerless" in its handling of intrusions into his own private life by the press.
Crime writer at the Daily Mail at the time of giving evidence. Among many accolades for his work, he won the Paul Foot Award in 2012 for his persistent investigation of the case of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Wright outlined what he saw as the legal and ethical issues of investigating such cases. Asked about relations with the police, he said he relied on his ethics and his integrity while pursuing stories such as the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes or corrupt relationships at Scotland Yard. He knew and the police knew, he told the Inquiry, that he would expose any breach of duties that he uncovered.
