‘This says everything about our government. He’s white, male, ancient, pale, stale, anti-BBC, anti-Channel 4.’

The government has named Tory peer Lord Michael Grade as the new chair of the UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom. Culture secretary Nadine Dorries made the announcement, proudly insisting he is the “ideal candidate” for the role.

The 79-year-old is a heavyweight in the industry, having held senior positions at the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

£142,500 for a three-day week

As Ofcom chair, Lord Grade of Yarmouth will pull in an annual salary of £142,500 for a three-day week role.

As well as monitoring the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, the Tory peer will police the conduct of online platforms like Google and Facebook.

It is reported that culture secretary Nadine Dorries backed Lord Grade above the other shortlisted candidates, which included Lord Gilbert of Panteg, who has been chairman of the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee since November 2017.

The new Ofcom chair is a vocal critic of the BBC. In an interview in the Telegraph last month, Grade referred to the BBC’s political coverage of the partygate scandal as “aggressive, gleeful and disrespectful.”

“There seems to be a sense at the BBC that if you ask difficult questions politely, your colleagues are going to say: ‘You let him or her off the hook’. It’s a macho culture. It’s unnecessary and I don’t like it,” Grade said.

The heavyweight broadcasting executive went on to chastise the £159 licence fee as a “regressive tax”, criticising the broadcaster for failing to own up to mistakes quickly, while calling for sweeping reforms of the BBC’s corporate governance.

In 2021, reports emerged that Lord Grade, who was at the helm of Channel 4 between 1988 and 1997 and also chaired the BBC and ITV, was considering snapping up C4, mulling takeover bids amid government plans to privatise the network.

Grade praises anti-woke warrior Laurence Fox

In a dig at woke culture, Grade – who has sat as a Tory peer in the House of Lords since being appointed by David Cameron in 2011 – sided with anti-woke warrior Laurence Fox. Speaking to the Telegraph in 2021, Grade praised the actor-turned-activist Fox as “a voice for those of us who are so sick of the intolerance. I respect people’s points of view, I just don’t respect the tone in which they do it, the woke brigade.”

The appointment of the media executive and Tory peer sparked an immediate backlash, with many questioning the reasoning and objectivity of the selection, given the privatisation drive of Channel 4 and the government’s seeming dislike of public service broadcasting.

John Simpson ‘congratulates’ Grade

Sarcastically congratulating Grade, legendary broadcaster and author John Simpson joined the rebuke, tweeting: “Congratulations to Michael Grade on becoming head of the media regulator, Ofcom. I’m sure his recent criticisms of the BBC licence fee and BBC political coverage had nothing to do with the decision.”

To which someone responded: “Absolutely nothing to do with the decision. Nor was the fact he’s a Tory peer who believes in the privatisation of Channel 4. All these factors make it obvious he will be an impartial head of Ofcom. £142,500 for three days a week is peanuts, of course. Public service at its best.”

Another wrote: “This says everything about our government. He’s white, male, ancient, pale, stale, anti-BBC, anti-C4 – all of whom he worked for when it suited him.”

The irony of appointing a vocal critic of public service broadcasting and woke culture into a top regulatory job for an organisation that calls for media impartiality, has also been raised. Guardian columnist Jane Martinson pointed to such irony, writing: “No 10 and its culture secretary were looking for someone willing to bully and chastise the corporation. Finally, they have their man.”

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

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