Dido Harding

Diana Mary "Dido" Harding, Baroness Harding of Winscombe (born 9 November 1967) is a British businesswoman and life peer who served as chair of NHS Improvement from 2017 to 2021 and as interim chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and head of NHS Test and Trace from 2020 to 2021.

She is a former chief executive of the TalkTalk Group where she faced calls for her to resign after a cyber attack revealed the details of up to four million customers; the company was subsequently fined £400,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office for its negligence. A member of the Conservative Party, Harding is married to John Penrose, a Conservative member of Parliament, and is a friend of former Prime Minister David Cameron. Harding was appointed as a member of the House of Lords by Cameron in 2014. She holds a board position at the Jockey Club, which is responsible for several major horse-racing events including the Cheltenham Festival.

In May 2020, Harding was appointed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to head NHS Test and Trace, established to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in England. In August 2020, after it was announced Public Health England was to be abolished, Harding was also appointed interim chief executive of the new National Institute for Health Protection, later renamed the UK Health Security Agency. The new agency was established on 1 April 2021; Harding oversaw a hand-over period which lasted until she departed on 7 May 2021 to be replaced by Jenny Harries. From June to August 2021, Harding temporarily stood aside as NHS Improvement Chair to apply, unsuccessfully, for the position of Chief Executive of NHS England; Andrew Valentine Morris stood in for Harding during this period before succeeding her on a permanent basis following her resignation in October 2021.