David Cameron tried and failed to ‘have Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre fired’ in panicked attempt to muzzle the press over Brexit coverage
Former PM urged paper's owner Lord Rothermere to get rid of the editor in the run up to the EU referendum, say the BBC
A DESPERATE David Cameron reportedly tried and failed to have a newspaper editor fired as he panicked about the possibility of losing the EU referendum.
The BBC is alleging the former Prime Minister urged Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere to sack Paul Dacre over his support for Brexit.
It came after Mr Cameron had pleaded personally with Mr Dacre to “cut him some slack” in a secret meeting at his Downing Street flat last February.
But he reportedly told the ex-PM he would not change his or the paper's editorial stance, because he was a 25-year strong Eurosceptic and he believed his readers were too.
Mr Cameron then went above his head and lobbied the paper’s Remain-backing proprietor in March, as the EU campaign was being ramped up, to step in.
The report by said Mr Dacre then learned of the ex-Tory boss’ scheming, and was "incandescent", hardening his resolve to push for the UK to leave the EU.
According to the programme Lord Rothermere informed the editor of the pressure he had been put under in July.
But by this point the UK had completed its historic vote for Brexit, and Mr Cameron’s career was in tatters – having left No10 after standing down the morning after the referendum.
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Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the episode shows that freedom of the press is “absolutely paramount”, and there should be less control through state regulation.
The Brexit-backing backbencher told The Sun: “If even the most honest and respectable prime ministers seek to have editors removed then the press is always under threat.”
It comes as the Government is consulting on whether to implement Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, which would muzzle the press’ ability to expose wrongdoing.
If it comes in it would mean anyone could sue newspapers for libel on a whim, and even if they had no case whatsoever, and then lost, the paper would have to pay the entire bill.
It would be the instant death of investigative journalism, and the only safety would be under a new state-approved regulator IMPRESS – a dubious outfit bankrolled by Max Mosley, a tycoon with a vendetta against the press.
A former Fleet Street editor said of the revelations: “Cameron has been caught with his pants down.
“He has a long history of trying to schmooze proprietors and it has been exposed spectacularly in this instance.
“Neither he nor his useless PR man Craig Oliver ever really understood papers and would regularly shout and bawl at editors when they didn't get their way.
“The one blessing here is that it exposes why politicians should never be allowed to control the press because they will always try to nobble us.”
Mr Cameron’s spokesman added: "It is a matter of public record that he made the case that it was wrong for newspapers to argue that we give up our membership of the EU.
"He made this argument privately to the editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre, and its proprietor, Lord Rothermere.
“It is wrong to suggest that David Cameron believed he could determine who edits the Daily Mail.”
A spokesman for Lord Rothermere refused to confirm or deny whether Mr Cameron had sought Mr Dacre's dismissal.