Barnes was born on the 18th of August 1932 in Malacca, Malaya to parents Thomas Arthur Barnes and Ethel Maud Walker. He attended Dover College in Southeast England, and went on to study Anthropology at St Catherine's College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he took part in an expedition to Lake Tana, Ethiopia, an account of which was published by Collins in 1955.
Career
Early career
Barnes served as a government official in the British colonial administration of Sarawak from 1956 to 1963, and remained in Sarawak's government throughout their transition to independence until 1968. In 1970, Barnes joined the government of Hong Kong, where he served as the Assistant Defence Secretary until 1972. Following this, Barnes held the posts of Police Civil Secretary until 1976 and then Assistant Director for the Commerce and Industry Department until 1977.
Deputy Secretary for Security
Barnes' first major government position came 1977 when he was promoted to Deputy Secretary for Security for Hong Kong under Secretary Lewis Mervyn Davis. Over his four years in the role Barnes was at the forefront of many of the national and international security threats that faced Hong Kong, most notably, his responsibility in dealing with the exodus of Vietnamese Boat People in 1978-79.
In 1983, Barnes undertook the role as Deputy Secretary for Health, with his tenure being noted for its extensive efforts in improvements in public health. Barnes led the effort to formulate and pass the Smoking Ordinance in 1982, a law targeting smoking bans and the regulation of sales of tobacco products. The law was passed successfully and was received well by both the government and the public. It provided the foundation for multiple amendments and developments in Hong Kong's smoking laws, culminating in an amendment in 2007 which vastly expanded the ban on smoking in most public places. The 1982 law is credited with the long-term reduction in smoking in Hong Kong, with 2015 figures indicating the overall daily smoking rate was 10.5%, a significant decline from the rate of 23.3% in the early 1980s.
Barnes oversaw a push by the ICAC to identify and deal with corruption in Hong Kong's financial institutions. This led to investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption against more than 20 banks and financial institutions. Barnes said such probes had become a major part of the work of the investigative body, which has police powers of arrest but operates independently of all other police and government offices. Barnes oversaw an expansion of the ICAC's institutional reach, building on its reputation as an effective regional example of dealing with anti-corruption.
Later career
Barnes later worked as a consultant for the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, offering insight, advice and expertise on anti-corruption and security measures. Additionally, Barnes also served as the president of the ICAC Association from 1993 until 1998.
Later life
Barnes retired from Hong Kong in 1990 and returned to Surrey, England, with his wife Agnete. During his retirement Barnes took the time to write up his memoirs of his decades working and living in East Asia in the form of two published works: Mostly Memories: Packing and Farewells and With the Dirty Half-Hundred in Malaya: Memories of National Service, 1951-52. Barnes died on the 11th of February 2010, at the age of 77 and is survived by his four children: Michael, Andrew, Julia and Robin.
Publications
Punan Cemeteries in the Niah River, SMJ, vol.12, pp. 639–645
Effects of Strong Government Measures Against Tobacco in Hong Kong, British Medical Journal, vol. 292, pp. 1435–1437 - co-authored with Judith Mackay
Mostly Memories: Packing and Farewells
With the Dirty Half-Hundred in Malaya: Memories of National Service, 1951-52
