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Leading the trading standards profession

CTSI Vice Presidents come from a broad range of backgrounds, reflecting the wide professional community that supports consumer protection and fair trading in the United Kingdom. They include members of Parliament and the House of Lords, senior figures from academia and policy institutions, leaders from consumer advocacy organisations, and experienced Trading Standards professionals.

These Vice Presidents act as senior ambassadors for CTSI. Through their experience in government, regulation, consumer policy and enforcement, they help strengthen the Institute’s links with Parliament, public bodies, industry and the wider consumer sector.

Their involvement supports CTSI’s work in promoting high standards of consumer protection, tackling fraud and unfair trading, and improving the regulatory environment for both businesses and consumers. By bringing together expertise from across politics, academia and frontline enforcement, the Vice Presidents help ensure the Institute remains closely connected to the issues affecting consumers, businesses and regulators across the United Kingdom.

Lord (Jamie) Lindsay has served as President of CTSI since 2021, following many years as a Vice President of the Institute. He currently serves as Chairman of UKAS, the United Kingdom’s National Accreditation Body, and has held a number of senior roles across the private and voluntary sectors. These include serving as President of several organisations, including the National Trust for Scotland. Lord Lindsay entered the House of Lords in 1989 and served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland in the government of John Major.

Lord Richard Best is a crossbench peer and recognised housing sector leader. Created a life peer in 2001, he has extensive experience as former Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Lord Best has successfully piloted five Private Members Bills through the House of Lords, including the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. He chairs the APPGon Housing and Care for Older People and is a Fellow of the RIBA, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Fellow of the Academy of Urbanism. His work focuses on housing policy, welfare reform, and social mobility.

Baroness Christine Crawley is a Labour Party life peer, created in 1998. A former Member of the European Parliament for Birmingham East, she served as Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality from 1989. Between 2002 and 2008, she served as a Party Whip in the House of Lords. Baroness Crawley was Chair of the Women's National Commission between 1999 and 2001 and has championed maternity leave rights and women's equality throughout her career. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Health from Plymouth University.

Baroness Margaret Eaton DBE DL is a Conservative Party life peer. A long-serving Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council member since 1986, she served as Council Leader from 2000 to 2006 and was Chairman of the Local Government Association from 2008 to 2011. As Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire since 2008, Baroness Eaton has extensive experience in local government leadership and regional development. She is Chairman and Trustee of Near Neighbours, a national registered charity.

Carolyn Harris is the Labour MP for Neath and Swansea East (previously Swansea East since 2015) and Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. Born and raised in Swansea, she holds a degree in Social Policy from Swansea University. Harris has served in several shadow ministerial roles including Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Labour Leader Keir Starmer from 2020 to 2021. She has led successful campaigns including lowering stakes on fixed-odd betting terminals and establishing free children's funerals, and is a non-executive director of the Centre for Social Justice.

Baroness Joan Seccombe DBE is a Conservative Party life peer, created in 1991. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1984 for her public service. From 1997 to 2001, Baroness Seccombe served as Opposition Whip and Opposition Spokesperson for Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Justice. She has been an active member of the House of Lords for over three decades, contributing to debates on legal and constitutional matters.

Lord Larry Whitty is a Labour Party life peer, created in 1996. He served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 1985 to 1994, overseeing significant party reforms under Neil Kinnock's leadership. Lord Whitty held ministerial positions including Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DEFRA with responsibility for Farming, Food and Sustainable Energy. He was appointed as the first Chairman of Consumer Focus in 2007, demonstrating his long-standing commitment to consumer protection and consumer rights advocacy.

Judith Ann Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox, is a Conservative life peer and former UK Government Minister who built her career in business before moving into national consumer representation. She chaired the UK National Consumer Council and later served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for intellectual property from 2010 to 2012. In the House of Lords she sat on the European Union Select Committee and related sub-committees, working on issues including Brexit, energy and the environment, before retiring from the Lords in 2020. Beyond Parliament she has held a range of non-executive posts with major organisations and continues to support education and community bodies, drawing on her background in building and leading successful food and fishing businesses in the South West.

David Thompson is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish National Party politician who represented the Highlands and Islands region, serving as a member of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee and convener of the cross party group on Consumer Affairs in the Scottish Parliament, where he worked closely with trading standards and consumer bodies; he went on to sit as convener of the Standards Procedures Committee until 2016 and hosted a number of parliamentary events on consumer and economic issues with ministers including Jamie Hepburn, while outside Parliament he has been active in the Scottish independence movement as a council member of the Scottish Independence Convention, founder of the short lived Action for Independence party in 2021, and convenor of Christians for Independence as well as an Elder in the Church of Scotland; within CTSI he has held senior roles as past chair of the Scottish Branch and is a Scottish Fellow of the Institute, bringing his political, consumer and constitutional experience to the Vice President role.

John Bridgeman CBE had a distinguished career in both the private and public sectors. Following senior management roles in the international aluminium industry, including as Chief Executive of British Aluminium plc, he became Director General of the Office of Fair Trading from 1995 to 2000. In this role, he oversaw competition policy and consumer protection across over 30 bodies and was known for his sceptical approach to corporate takeovers and strong advocacy for consumer rights. He has served on numerous audit and governance committees and has been a Vice President of CTSI, bringing decades of experience in fair trading and consumer protection.

Malcolm Harbour CBE is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer who served as Conservative MEP for the UK West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. He was Chairman of the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee from 2009 to 2014, playing a key role in shaping single market policies, manufacturing industry policy, the digital economy, and consumer protection legislation. He led reforms in public procurement legislation and promoted public procurement of innovation. Malcolm was appointed CBE in 2013 for services to the UK economy and currently serves as an Associate with Connected Places Catapult and Senior Adviser at the European Policy Centre.

Peter McVeigh is a long serving lighting industry businessman and joint owner of Status International UK, a leading independent supplier of lighting and electrical accessories based in West Yorkshire. He runs the company with his son Nicholas, and together they have close to 100 years of combined experience supplying major national retailers, wholesalers and independent electrical outlets across the UK and Europe. Under their leadership Status has grown over more than 30 years to operate head office, warehousing, distribution, an in house design studio and a product testing laboratory in and around Birkenshaw and Cleckheaton. Peter’s engagement with Trading Standards has included speaking publicly on issues such as product quality, regulation, Brexit and corporate responsibility, bringing a manufacturer and supplier perspective to consumer protection debates.

Richard Thomas CBE served as the UK's Information Commissioner from December 2002 to June 2009, responsible for enforcement of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts. During his tenure, he raised significant concerns over increased use of CCTV and the introduction of ID Cards in the UK, championing individual privacy rights. He was subsequently Chairman of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council and served on the Committee on Standards in Public Life from 2012 to 2017. Richard was appointed CBE in 2009 for public service and is Deputy Chairman of the Consumers' Association, demonstrating his continued commitment to consumer advocacy.

Alma Williams OBE is a long standing consumer advocate whose work focuses on education, older people and patient involvement in health services; a former chair of the National Federation of Consumer Groups, she has played a prominent role in the consumer movement nationally and through CTSI’s North Yorkshire and Humberside branch, while also serving as a Vice President of Which?, a member of the EU Economic and Social Committee, President of Ripon Centre WI, vice chair of Outwood Academy and an active participant in NHS research and development as a Patient and Public Involvement representative; she has led local and regional scam busting activity through the WI and U3A, writes a consumer issues column for a regional U3A newsletter, campaigns for the Dignity in Dying Association, and has been recognised with an MBE for services to education and an OBE for her work on Europe and product safety.

Ron Gainsford OBE FCTSI is a long standing figure in the Trading Standards profession whose career has focused on strengthening consumer protection and raising the profile of the service nationally; a former Chief Executive of the CTSI, he played a central role in developing the Institute’s policy voice and professional leadership while supporting the work of Trading Standards services across the UK; he has also served in senior governance roles within the consumer and automotive redress sector, including as Chair of The Motor Ombudsman, and remains widely recognised within the profession for his commitment to promoting the value and impact of Trading Standards and supporting those working on the frontline of consumer protection.

Paul Allen OBE FCTSI has given decades of service to the Trading Standards profession, with a career centred on public protection, leadership and strengthening the Institute’s role. Beginning as a Trading Standards Officer, he became closely involved in national professional activity and served twice as Institute Chairman between 1982 and 1983, alongside active engagement with the former Conference of Advanced Trading Standards. He later brought his experience into Parliament as a Member of the House of Lords until his retirement in 2015, and has continued to support the profession in retirement, including contributing to Institute history and writing obituaries, remaining a committed and active Vice President.

John Corfield FCTSI is recognised for his long association with the Institute and his practical work in Trading Standards, particularly in weights and measures and consumer enforcement. He was involved in the early years of the Institute, served as Chairman of the North West Branch in 1979, and contributed extensively to professional publications and journals over many years. As a former Chief Trading Standards Officer at Southend on Sea and a specialist in weights and measures, he is known for campaigning on the accuracy of pint measures, including publishing research and travelling nationally to raise awareness, as well as highlighting malpractice within the estate agency sector.

Robert Wright has been a Vice President of the Institute since 2000, having been appointed through a process led by the Council, and brings extensive experience of the Trading Standards profession alongside a strong interest in governance and professional standards. He has remained actively engaged through his branch and continued to follow Institute activity closely, with a particular focus on strengthening links between national leadership, Council and local services. Additionally, he has also consistently advocated for greater involvement of Vice Presidents and Council members in shaping policy and key documents, as well as improving communication and engagement across the network, including raising the importance of rebuilding local profile, strengthening links with elected representatives and supporting initiatives such as the Young Consumer Competition. Robert remains committed to the Institute and its work, regarding his role as a Vice President as a long term contribution to supporting the profession.

Having served as a Vice President for over a decade, Noel Hunter OBE has also been Chair of the Consumer Code for Home Builders since July 2010. He brings extensive experience in consumer protection, built across a range of organisations. He is cu