Paul Dacre is the former Daily Mail editor and has now withdrawn from the race to become the chairman of Ofcom, the media regulator.
In a letter to the Times, Mr Dacre said he had been rejected by an interview panel because of his ‘strong convictions’ and has taken the decision not to re-apply for the job despite the appointment process being re-opened by Boris Johnson.
Dacre claimed he’d rather take on an “exciting new job” in the private sector and attacked Whitehall’s determination to exclude anyone with right-of center ‘convictions.
He called his encounters with senior civil servants an ‘infelicitous dalliance with the Blob’.
Paul Dacre, former editor of Daily Mail, has attacked civil servants in his public rant to quit the race for the position as chairman Ofcom’s media regulator.
He said: “To anyone in the private sector with convictions who is considering applying for a job as a civil servant, I say this: The civil services will control and leak everything.
The process may take you up to one year, during which time your life is put on hold. However, if you possess an independent mind and don’t associate with any liberal/left organizations you stand a greater chance of getting the job.
Mr Dacre also made reference to Sarah Healey, the permanent secretary at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport who notoriously said working from home allowed her to spend more time on her expensive Peloton exercise bike.
The author wrote: “I’m accepting an exciting new position in the private sector in a hostile business climate. It struggles to create wealth for senior civil servants. This allows them to spend more time on the Peloton and polishing political correctness.
Dacre stated that he had been deemed unappointable because of his strong convictions. This would have meant that he wouldn’t be suited for the regulatory role.
Dacre also called the BBC a “great civilizing force”, for which he would die in a ditch.
The Corporation must be saved from itself as well as the streaming giants with frighteningly high resources in the future, he said.
“I wish Ofcom every success as it attempts to manage the powerful, corrupt, and, as has been learned, moral tech giants. This is a huge challenge that I have spent the past 28 years fighting for, publicly as well as privately, with ministers.
He wrote, “Whether Ofcom’s Chief Executive, who is a brillant career civil servant and was previously at the Ministry of Housing has the ability to handle such issues is another kettle of fish.”