Just as Well He’s Gone

The odious little creep Cameron.

The proprietor of the Daily Mail told its editor that David Cameron pressed for him to be sacked during the EU referendum, BBC Newsnight has learned.

Lord Rothermere told Paul Dacre the prime minister urged him to rein in his pro-Brexit editor, then suggested he sack him, a source told the BBC.

The Mail mounted a vociferous campaign for Brexit in the run up to the vote.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron said he “did not believe he could determine who edits the Daily Mail”.

The disclosure casts fresh light on one of the most bitter personal enmities of the Brexit campaign.

I have no love for the Daily Mail. However, it is not the place of the PM to decide whether editors are sacked or not. And in even attempting to sway the owner, he crossed a line. And why? Because the paper dared to disagree with his stance on the EU.

What is staggering is this statement:

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.

Because news outlets should always parrot the government line? This is the Soviet Union and the Mail is Pravda, yes? The whole point of having a free press is that they do contradict the government and can campaign on behalf of their owners according to what they believe. We, the electorate and readership, will make our own decisions. And we did.

So, yeah, just as well he went. Good riddance.