He came to the Office when it was flushed with the success of the Barlow Clowes investigation, which crowned an otherwise quiet decade in which fewer MPs were referring cases.

Reid oversaw a dramatic upswing in caseload during his tenure - from 704 complaints in 1990 to 1,920 in 1996, the largest annual total in the history of the Office.

The Office also had numerous tribunals brought within its jurisdiction, as well as bodies such as the National Lottery, the Coal Authority, The Environment Agency and the Rail Regulator.

He observed that 'to define maladministration is to limit it' and extended the 'Crossman catalogue' (as set out in 1966) to include 'rudeness; an unwillingness to treat an individual as a person with rights; a refusal to answer reasonable questions; neglecting to inform an individual on request of his or her rights or entitlement; knowingly giving advice which is misleading or inadequate; ignoring valid advice or overruling considerations which would produce an uncomfortable result for the person overruling; offering no redress or manifestly disproportionate redress; showing bias whether because of colour, sex, or any other grounds; an omission to notify those who thereby lost a right of appeal; a refusal to inform adequately of the right of appeal; faulty procedures; the failure to monitor compliance with adequate procedures; cavalier disregard of guidance which was intended to be followed in the interest of the equitable treatment of those who use a service; partiality; and failure to mitigate the effects of rigid adherence to the letter of the law where that produces manifestly inequitable treatment.

Reid uncovered a litany of administrative woes when he reported in 1995: 'mistaken identity, inadequate procedures, failure to answer correspondence, incorrect or misleading advice, delay in the assessment and review of child support maintenance, and in its payment to the parent with care'.

It was necessary for Reid to lay a report under s10(3) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 when the Government refused to accept his findings in respect of complaints about blight caused by the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Residents in Kent complained that the handling of the project by the Department of Transport had caused the value of their properties to depreciate to the extent that they could not sell them.

After 1994, the work of the Office under Reid was dominated by the decision of the Government to establish a unified complaints system for the National Health Service and to extend the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman to encompass matters of clinical judgment.

Successive Ombudsmen had expressed misgivings that such a large proportion of complaints received about health authorities concerned clinical judgment.

The subsequent Health Service Commissioners (Amendment) Act 1996 which enabled the Ombudsman to investigate clinical judgment received all-party support.

[6] Reid also undertook to recruit and train the additional staff necessary to cope with the increased workload and extended remit.

When Reid departed the Office, it was well placed to handle the dramatically increasing workload which would soon be dominated by matters of clinical judgment.

It took too long to reply to complaints... no real thought appeared to have been given to measures which might improve service and reduce the pressure on staff'.