Francis is a consultant specialising in information law and policy.

He recently retired as the United Kingdom Deputy Information Commissioner where he had directed the registration, administration, complaints, publicity, investigations and strategic policy functions for the Commissioner. He had joined the Office of the Data Protection Registrar, as it then was, in mid-March 1985 from Surrey County Council, where he had been an Assistant County Clerk. He was noted for leading the teams which developed policy guidance on data protection issues particularly at European and international levels and has been described by the Commissioner as "the UK's leading data protection expert.... [who]... dominated the subject for 21 years".

Francis graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and, in addition to being a solicitor, holds an MSc in Management Studies.

In 2006, Francis was awarded a CBE in recognition of the work he has done over the last 21 years and the contribution he has made, both domestically and internationally as an expert on data protection.