Mark Walport to oversee the public funding of research in the UK.

"Here's a good article on Mark Walport's qualifications to be the inaugural head of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which will oversee and restructure the public funding of research in the UK. 

Unfortunately the article is silent on Walport's pioneering and persistent role in open access, which is clearly related to his new post. He was the Director of the Wellcome Trust at the time it became the first funding agency to adopt a strong OA policy, and when its example and experience helped persuade other funding agencies, public and private, to follow suit. ..."