The Ministry of Telecommunications and E-Commerce has hired a British expert to help guide the expansion of what has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the local economy.

Nigel Hickson, who is currently head of e-business at the Confederation of British Industry, will begin his new post as a Government consultant on July 1. He will work with senior e-commerce analyst Marissa Hall and the central policy unit in developing regulatory framework and development plans for the industry, as well as provide technical advice for Telecoms Minister Renee Webb.

"We feel like his skill sets provide a strength that the Ministry can clearly use,'' said Telecommunications Director Greg Swan.

"It is a good marriage between (Mr. Hickson and Mrs. Hall) in terms of satisfying the objectives that have been set out for the Ministry,'' he said.

Mr. Hickson will also assist in the training of Mrs. Hall, who will assume his duties when his contract expires two years from now.

"This is not a permanent post and its sole purpose is to have a Bermudian assume the responsibility,'' Mr. Swan said, noting that after two years, Mrs.

Hall will have strengthened her position within the Ministry. The Royal Gazette learned of Mr. Hickson's appointment from an article at vnunet.com about Mr. Hickson, who claims he was "rejected'' to speak at a conference in Britain on workplace privacy next month. Mr. Swan said his Ministry planned to announce the hire once all the details of Mr. Hickson's contract were finalised.

"We didn't want to announce it until everything was complete,'' he said, adding that the Ministry has been working on the appointment for the past two months.

The article also said Mr. Hickson would be "in a prime position to push UK interests in the country'' relating to issues such as security and telecoms.

Mr. Swan did not know what Mr. Hickson's salary would be, although consultants like him are typically paid on a different scale from civil servants. And because Mr. Hickson was a consultant recruited by the Government, his position did not need to be advertised locally.

Mr. Hickson, a native of Hertfordshire, entered City University in London in 1976, where he studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

In 1982, he joined the Department of Trade and Industry to work in export control of high-technology goods. He was later involved in financial services regulation before his appointment to head a team focused on technology security. According to the Internet Law & Policy Forum, his duties during the late 1990s included the development of legislation on electronic signatures and encryption.

Now as an officer of the CBI, Mr. Hickson is an advocate for companies in the British and European political arenas.

In December, he criticised legislation that allowed Europeans to sue companies in their own national courts, meaning that Internet companies in particular would have to comply with 15 sets of laws.

"I believe it will have a negative impact on the spread of e-business in the European Union, causing legal confusion and leading to Internet traders to only accept orders in their own countries,'' he told vnunet.com.