I've a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from Warwick University which was awarded in 1976. After graduation I worked for the accountancy firm Pannell, Fitzpatrick & Co (now part of Pannell Kerr Forster) in Athol Street, Douglas Isle of Man. Later, I obtained the National Computing Centre Certificate in Systems Analysis, and a postgraduate Diploma in Management Accounting from the North-West Regional Management Centre.

In 1988 I started working for the London Borough of Southwark as a computer programmer, where I worked on Payroll and on the Student Grants and Tuition Fees System. I moved on to the banking software house Midas Kapiti (part of Misys Banking Systems) in 1976, and then to the Arab Bank in the City of London in 1997; in 2000 I moved to the Charities Aid Foundation in West Malling where I supported their CAF Bank operation. From May 2004 I offered IT and bookkeeping services to individuals and small businesses. I'm now semi-retired.

I've lived in Lambeth since 1981, and have been involved in a variety of community organisations, most recently with the Brixton Market Traders Federation CIC (brixtonmarket.net).