Unfashionable bag

But, business is business, says Anya Hindmarch (and the devil takes the hindmost?);

The handbag entrepreneur and mother-of-five told MPs the “suffocating” regulations could force employers to hire men over women.

Mrs Hindmarch, 45, told the Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee: “There is a brown envelope flashing above every woman's head in terms of tribunal threat. I think it [regulation] could end up working against women, unfortunately.

“As a woman, a mother-of-five and an employer of a lot of women with children, it would end up making you make a choice between employing a man or a woman.

“You probably might pick the easier route because the regulation and consequential cost and eggshell treading would just be too onerous. I cannot say strongly enough that any more regulation will cripple this country. We are so over-regulated.”

In this case it's maternity leave and its repercussions that make employing women more costly. What does a country with a governmental committee on 'business innovation and skills' expect?