Internet Watch Foundation

Stephen Locke was appointed as Independent Board Member in January 2008 and Independent Vice-Chair as from January 2010.
 
Stephen is a specialist consultant on consumer policy and regulation, and has extensive experience in both capacities. He served for many years on the National Consumer Council, and and is now the Board of its successor body, Consumer Focus. He is also a non-Executive Board Director of the Payments Council. Other public positions include membership of the Professional Standards Board of the Chartered Insurance Institute and of the Advertising Advisory Committee of the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, which sets the standards for TV and radio advertising enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority.
 
Stephen started his career at the Treasury after studying at Cambridge and Harvard Universities. His six years at the Treasury included 18 months as Private Secretary to Nigel Lawson MP, then Financial Secretary. He then had his first exposure to consumer policy and research issues in his long career at Which?, where he ended up as Director of Research and Policy. His most recent full-time role was as Director of Advertising and Sponsorship at the Independent Television Commission, setting and enforcing TV advertising standards across the board; in this capacity he also played a leading part in the setting up of Ofcom, as the Project Director prior to the arrival of the new Board and senior management team. Other non-executive roles have included membership of the Financial Services Authority Consumer Panel, the advisory Board to the Clementi review of legal services regulation and the Board of PhonepayPlus the premium rate regulator, on which he served from 2004 to 2009.