Profile: Trevor Phillips

Phillips was awarded the OBE in 1999

Trevor Phillips, who has been announced as the head of the new equalities super-watchdog, has often been a figure of controversy during his tenure as the chair of the Commission for Racial Equality.

Criticism of Mr Phillips culminated recently with London's mayor Ken Livingstone - who had an acrimonious relationship with Mr Phillips when the CRE chief was chair of the London Assembly - saying Mr Phillips had moved so far to the right he expected the him to "soon be joining the British National Party".

Mr Phillips robustly defended his record but Mr Livingstone's remarks reflected the spiky relationship which has developed between himself and several leading race campaigners.

Mr Phillips' assertion soon after he took over at the CRE that "multiculturalism" - a policy previously advocated by the race watchdog - encouraged divisions in British society infuriated some campaigners who said he was playing into the hands of the right-wing anti-immigration lobby.

But highlighting perceived chasms between ethnic groups remained a key theme for Mr Phillips who was made an OBE in 1999.

In September 2005, drawing on an academic report, he warned the UK was "sleepwalking into segregation" which could see the creation of racial ghettos similar to those in the US.

His appointment as head of the new watchdog which will oversee issues of race, disability and gender discrimination has been greeted with dismay in some quarters.

They point out that as CRE chief, Mr Phillips initially opposed the super-watchdog's creation and got a three-year opt out for the race body.

For his part, Mr Phillips says that the government has dealt with many of the reservations held by those working in the three different equality commissions. He now believes that it is possible for the body to work and he expects its core commissioners to be experts in various fields of discrimination such as disability or age.

Labour activist

Trevor Phillips was born in London in 1953 but went to secondary school in Georgetown, Guyana before returning to London to study chemistry at university.

After becoming head of the National Union of Students, he went into a career in journalism and broadcasting and eventually became head of current affairs at LWT, one of the former ITV companies, in 1992.

Before becoming CRE chief, Mr Phillips had political ambitions. He sought the nomination to be the Labour's candidate for London mayor in 2000 - eventually standing as Frank Dobson's deputy.

Following his subsequent election to the London Assembly, he was appointed as chair of the new body.

He is a close friend of former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson, who was the best man at his wedding.