Educated at Scarborough College and Magdalene, Cambridge, Malcolm graduated in 1979 having read Natural Sciences and specialised in psychology. Malcolm worked as a chemistry teacher before joining the Atomic Energy Authority in 1987. In 1995 he joined Imperial College as a Senior Research Fellow and in 1999 became a Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, where he is now an Associate Fellow, conducting an investigation into the future of civil nuclear energy. He is a regular media contributor on energy and nuclear matters.

Among his publications are two books co-written with the late Peter Beck: Double or Quits – the global future of civil nuclear energy and Civil nuclear energy – fuel of the future or relic of the past? In late 2005 he published a study looking at the differences between the political and technical mindsets and how this impacts on major industries such as nuclear energy (available from Chatham House), and is currently part of a consortium including Manchester, Southampton and City Universities carrying out a government-funded project on sustainable nuclear energy. He is an elected Member of Wandsworth Council and until 2009 had executive responsibility for environment and leisure.