In letter to Prime Minister David Cameron last week, she thanked him for “giving me the opportunity to do this very rewarding role”, but added that she feels “it is now time I step down from that role”.
Lane Fox (pictured above) was appointed UK digital champion in 2009 and established the Race Online 2002 campaign, which was the basis for the later Go On UK campaign - a cross-sector partnership dedicated to building the nation's digital skills, which she now chairs.
The campaign, which Lane Fox launched in April 2012, was adopted across Europe in 2011, with each member state appointing their own Champion, overseen by Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission.
Having one person lead and oversee this agenda, Lane Fox wrote, “is the most effective way to bring about lasting change”.
A report she produced for Minister of the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, on the future of Directgov led to the creation of the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the move to a single domain for all government information – gov.uk.
Lane Fox was awarded a CBE for services to the digital economy and charity and in March this year was created a life peer and entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher.
She said she will continue her role in the House of Lords and working with the GDS, but added that she will “focus [her] efforts on the vital issue of building digital skills”.
Cameron today responded to her resignation in a letter thanking her “for [her] inspiration”, adding that her work “has helped establish a digital culture at the heart of government”.
See also: Our interview with Martha Lane Fox