The ASA team are saddened by news of the death of our former Chairman, Lord Gordon Borrie QC, on Friday 30 September.

Gordon chaired the ASA extremely effectively from 2001-2007, a period which saw perhaps the biggest development in the ASA's history: in 2004 Ofcom contracted to the ASA the day-to-day responsibility for regulating TV and radio ads, creating a ‘one-stop shop’ for advertising regulation, benefiting both consumers and businesses.

But Gordon’s involvement with ASA actually began a lot earlier, in 1978, when as Director of Fair Trading he reviewed the ASA system. His review broadly endorsed the effectiveness of the system, but also proposed far-reaching changes. One such change was that the ASA should undertake monitoring of ads on its own initiative, instead of acting only after a complaint has been received, and another was that the ASA should publish intra-industry rulings for the first time. Both recommendations were enacted and remain in place today.

Gordon’s service and leadership made an enduring contribution to the protection of consumers and the success of advertising regulation in the UK.

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