THE UK’s Information Commissioner is to make her first public speech in the North-East.

Elizabeth Denham, who was appointed last year to promote openness in public bodies and data privacy for individuals, will be keynote speaker at a Northumbria University conference.

The two-day Archival Accountability Gap conference takes place at the university’s city campus on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The event aims to address whether there are democratic flaws in the way records are managed and selected for archives.

It will cover topics such as record keeping in relation to tragedies such as Hillsborough and improving the well-being of dementia patients.

One of the event organisers, Prof Julie McLeod, from Northumbria University, said: “We will be hearing from a range of speakers who will describe how having access to archives can make a huge difference to our lives, whether for investigating tragedies or child abuse, fighting corruption or improving health”.