Ex-Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre drops out from Ofcom race for new chair
The former editor of the Daily Mail has bowed out of a competition to appoint the next head of media regulator Ofcom,`casting scathing criticism at senior civil servants.
In a letter to the Times Paul Dacre announced he would not be re-applying for the role at Ofcom – the UK’s watchdog for television, radio, telecoms and postal services – and had instead opted to undertake an “exciting new job in the private sector.”
The selection process is being rerun after an initial round of interviews failed to find a candidate to lead the media regulator.
Former Daily Mail editor and vocal BBC critic Paul Dacre was reportedly Boris Johnson’s preferred choice during the initial interviews.
The former Daily Mail editor claimed civil servants were set on excluding anyone with right-of-centre “convictions” from being appointed to senior public sector roles.
“To anyone from the private sector, who, God forbid, has convictions, and is thinking of applying for a public appointment, I say the following: the civil service will control (and leak) everything; the process could take a year in which your life will be put on hold; and if you are possessed of an independent mind and are unassociated with the liberal-left, you will have more chance of winning the lottery than getting the job.”