Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter

Who Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter is

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter FRS OBE is Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the University of Cambridge, based in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences. He was previously Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, which aimed to improve the way that statistical evidence is used by health professionals, patients, lawyers and judges, media and policy-makers. His background is in medical statistics, particularly the use of Bayesian methods in clinical trials, health technology assessment and drug safety. He played leading statistical roles in the public inquiries into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, the murders by Harold Shipman, and the Infected Blood Inquiry, and contributed to the development of the NHS Maternity Outcomes Signal System (MOSS). He is a regular media commentator on statistical issues with a particular focus on communicating uncertainty, and is Non-Executive Director of the UK Statistics Authority.

References for this biography

1. 1.Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter – Churchill College, Cambridge — Current role as Emeritus Professor; FRS elected 2005, OBE 2006, knighted 2014 for services to medical statistics
2. 2.Sir David Spiegelhalter OBE FRS – Royal Society Fellow profile — Emeritus Professor of Statistics, University of Cambridge; former Chair of Winton Centre; President of RSS 2017–2018; Non-Executive Director UKSA 2020; X handle @d_spiegel
3. 3.Appointment of two new Non-Executive Directors to the UK Statistics Authority Board — Appointment as Non-Executive Director of the UK Statistics Authority from 27 May 2020
4. 4.NHS maternity signal system will spot and stop emerging safety concerns – NHS England — Spiegelhalter co-led the expert group developing the NHS Maternity Outcomes Signal System (MOSS)
5. 5.Interview: David Spiegelhalter, statistician – The Actuary (January 2025) — Leading roles in Bristol Royal Infirmary, Shipman, and Infected Blood public inquiries; Emeritus Professor status; Non-Executive Director UKSA
6. 6.Rise in baby deaths at hospital 'not an outlier', Letby inquiry hears – Express & Star — Spiegelhalter gave evidence to the Thirlwall Inquiry as Emeritus Professor of Statistics, University of Cambridge
7. 7.Professor David Spiegelhalter – Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, Cambridge — Organisational staff page confirming affiliation and research interests including public understanding of uncertainty and biostatistics

Notable achievements

• Knighted in 2014 for services to medical statistics; previously elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005 and awarded an OBE in 2006 Source ↗
• Appointed Non-Executive Director of the UK Statistics Authority board in May 2020, a term subsequently extended through to 2026 Source ↗
• Served as President of the Royal Statistical Society for 2017–2018 Source ↗
• Led the statistical team for the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry and gave evidence to the Shipman Inquiry, and was a member of the Statistics Expert Group for the Infected Blood Inquiry 2019–2024 Source ↗
• Co-led development of the NHS Maternity Outcomes Signal System (MOSS), a national mandatory safety signal system for maternity services in England Source ↗
• Gave evidence to the Thirlwall Inquiry (Lucy Letby) as emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge on neonatal death rate outlier analysis Source ↗

What Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter has said

• “Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, the renowned statistician who identified that monitoring GP death rates could have detected the murders of the GP Harold Shipman”

  Renowned statistician · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Warning system to spot poor care at NHS England maternity wards ↗

Recent social activity

• Ahead of the Commons vote tomorrow, some very personal thoughts on the statistics of assisted dying https://t.co/ObxyuBcgPo , largely based on the recent report from Dignity in Dying https://t.co/M5mLkV5cmX

  x.com ↗

• and currently available on Kindle for 99p!!

  x.com ↗

Where Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter has been quoted

1. NHS maternity dashboard launched to prevent tragediesdigitalhealth.net · 30 Sept 2026
2. Warning system to spot poor care at NHS England maternity wardstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• 'Being able to stay in hospital with our son meant everything'BBC
• New funding targets Kentucky’s maternal mortality rateSpectrum News
• Harris County Is the Worst Place in the US to Give Birth as a Black Woman. One Artist Is Doing Something About It.Houstonia Magazine

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/person/ds28
• Websitehttps://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~ds28/
• Xhttps://twitter.com/d_spiegelpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.