Ian Cheshire has been selected by the government as its preferred candidate to chair Ofcom. Can someone pass Margaret Hodge a tissue…
Cheshire will replace Lord Grade, whose term ends this month. Cheshire is former chairman of Channel 4 and CEO of retail group Kingfisher. He has also had stints as chairman of of Barclays UK, Debenhams plc, Maisons du Monde and Menhaden…
His quote:
“Across my career in e-commerce, telecoms and broadcasting I have seen first-hand how much effective regulation matters – for consumers, for businesses and for the wider economy. Ofcom has a critical job to do at a time of rapid change in how people communicate, access information and stay safe online. I look forward to setting out my vision for how Ofcom can meet those challenges when I appear before the Select Committee.”
Ofcom is responsible for enforcing the hated Online Safety Act and has attracted severe criticism for its two-tier treatment of GB News. The regulator’s reputation is in tatters…
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”