The new boss of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, which has responsibility for policing international e-crime, has been forced to battle suggestions from MPs that his background in senior government bureaucracy is unsuitable experience to run a front-line crimefighting agency.

Sir Ian Andrews, a 34-year veteran of the MoD, faced the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday. MPs contrasted his background in administration with that of his predecessor as SOCA chairman, Sir Stephen Lander, who became the "British FBI's" first boss after leading MI5.

Andrews rejected the suggestion, saying he had been "very active in the national security space over much of the last couple of decades".

His experience in the upper reaches of the MoD included running part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (he left before the privatisation that created Qinetiq, and some very wealthy former Mandarins), and charge of the Defence Estates Agency, which manages the Department's huge property portfolio.

Andrews told the Committee: "I don't think being chairman of a large organisation does require strategic expertise in one field. What it requires is a track record in leadership."

With 3,900 staff and an annual budget of £430m, SOCA certainly counts as a large organisation. But it has failed to convince many politicians of its impact on organised crime since it was founded in 2006. Under Lander it was also frequently criticised for excessive secrecy.

Labour's Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, voiced such concerns yesterday. "This [SOCA] is an organisation that is causing concern. If you look at the recent history it is not as effective as I think ministers would expect."

As well as international e-crime and other fraud, SOCA main responsibilities are policing drug and people trafficking. It also has a role in the UK intelligence community, particularly tracking the proceeds of crime.

Regardless of his background, it appears Andrews and SOCA have much to prove. ®

Related stories

• Cybercriminals down five British police forces in a year (5 November 2009)
• Olympic ticket scams already starting, says top e-cop (2 November 2009)
• UK police chiefs mull regional cybercrime squads (24 June 2009)
• Organised crime cops seek international hacking powers (15 May 2009)
• SOCA: Cons' consoles causing crime (14 May 2009)
• Exclusive How police busted UK's biggest cybercrime case (19 March 2009)
• Cybercrime losses tax UK small business (19 February 2009)
• UK cybercrime unit to meet IT leaders (10 February 2009)