It would hardly be a proper weekly roundup if this post didn’t discuss the furore surrounding the NOTW (News of the World).

Earlier in the week the board decided to close the title – the brand could no longer survive after advertisers deserted the paper in disgust over the phone hacking allegations.

Ed Miliband at a press conference on Friday (8 July) called upon David Cameron to launch a judge led inquiry into the scandal. He also said that the Press Complaints Commission had revealed itself to be a toothless poodle and that it must be ‘put out of its misery’.

Nonetheless he agrees that the way forward is to continue with self-regulation of the media rather than impose legislation.

I agree with this line especially after the chair of the PCC admitted that she was lied to but felt she could do nothing about it.

Whatever replaces it, it needs to be something which proves it can do the job of regulation properly and effectively. In addition we must be careful not to use the PCC as a scapegoat. You can see some of Ed’s speech on the matter here.

Earlier in the week I did a piece for Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about introducing legislation that would see minimum board room quotas set for women.

The interview took place before we voted on a report in the European parliament which sought to begin the discussion on whether or not we should seek to introduce legislation. The vote was passed but I noted that the Tories voted against it.

The problem, as I see it, is that voluntary measures-as favoured by Lord Davies who reported to the UK government on this matter in February this year-do not go far enough. Lord Davies’ report revealed some interesting research on the impact women have when they are part of board room discussions for example, and if nothing else this provides a strong business case.

Put simply they improve the bottom line of a company. You can hear the interview again here.