The Daily Mail’s Ruth Sutherland is busy ringing round business leaders to sign a letter backing the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement. In 2017 the Tories internally banned the use of open letters during the election campaign, after the almost comical deluge of experts’ letters during the 2016 referendum…

This new letter, leaked to Guido, stresses that May’s deal is “not perfect” but that people and businesses should back it out of pragmatism.

Read it in full here, before it makes the Mail’s front page…

“The Prime Minister’s deal is not perfect but it is clear to business that politicians should back it as a pragmatic way forward.

The deal reduces short-term uncertainty, which has already had a chilling effect on investment, and clears the way for a future trade deals. The longer the possibility of a no deal exit remains, the greater the risks to investment and jobs.

We hope MPs will listen to the companies in their constituencies which provide jobs and incomes for the people who put them in Parliament. We urge them to get behind the Prime Minister’s deal so business can get on with its job of creating wealth for the country.”

Technically Quentin Letts was a freelancer, so he has not really been fired or resigned. His sketches for the Daily Mail were famously and brilliantly poisonous. Quentin’s not a fan of Theresa May and is an ardent Brexiteer – so very much out of tune with the new editor Geordie Greig. Quentin has of late been doing pieces for the Sunday Telegraph and he started out on on The Telegraph. Guido understands that Michael Deacon can relax, we are more likely to be seeing Quentin writing for The Sun and The Times. A source inside Northcliffe House tells Guido “Dacre will rupture his spleen laughing so hard”. Quentin is one of the hardest working and highest paid hacks in the business…

UPDATE: Guido understands Quentin will be doing a fortnightly column for The Sun, sketching for The Times and theatre reviews for the Sunday Times. Guido was outbid for him…

UPDATE: News UK have put a press release out quoting Quentin saying

“’It is a privilege to write for any newspaper, doubly so when it is as central to British public life as The Times, The Sunday Times or The Sun. I have had 18 busy and happy years at the Mail but am now excited to be venturing forth – and particularly to be returning to The Times, having been its New York correspondent several moons ago.”

This is the most extraordinary front page of the Daily Mail’s new era under Geordie Grieg. It claims voters want Tory MPs to “rally behind Theresa May’s Brexit deal” based on a Survation poll.

What the Daily Mail’s front page has done is ignore the key result that Survation found. When asked to choose between Theresa May’s withdrawal plan and leaving the EU with “No Deal”, voters opt for “No Deal” by 41% to 35%. Extraordinary from Geordie…

UPDATE: The Daily Mail has made strong representations that our previous headline “Daily Mail Twists Own Poll Results, Public Opposes May’s Deal, Frontpage Headline Says Opposite” was unfair and untrue. On further reflection we accept that we were quoting from two different polls commissioned by the Daily Mail two weeks apart. We have now changed the headline and the content of this story. We accept that their front page story reflects accurately and truthfully data from the second poll. We apologise in particular to Simon Walters.

Geordie Greig has begun building his top team ready for his November start date as editor of the Daily Mail. Guido understands Greig’s two deputies at the Daily Mail will be current deputy editor Gerard Greaves and Tobyn Andreae, the Mail on Sunday deputy editor who is moving across with Greig.

Greaves, who had been tipped as a possible successor to Paul Dacre, has worked as Greig’s deputy at the Mail on Sunday before he was poached by Dacre to work on the Daily Mail. Prior to working under Greig at the Mail on Sunday, Andreae held a number of senior roles at the Daily Mail including executive features editor and editor of its women-focused section. Andreae has also worked as an editor at the Sunday Times.

The Daily Mail may be the voice of middle England, however its new top three sound as if they are from a more rarefied class. Greaves will be slightly ahead of Andreae in the pecking order, we have been told. That’s a Geordie, Gerard and Tobyn speaking for middle England. Can’t help feeling that Paul was a more solid name…

Fevered speculation overnight as to who will be the next Daily Mail editor following Paul Dacre’s resignation. There is talk a successor has already been found. As ever, Guido brings you your runners and riders…

• Tony Gallagher – Was Mail deputy before he became editor of the Sun in 2015. Might he be tempted to return?
• Geordie Greig – Or could the Mail on Sunday editor move over? Greig is a huge Remainer so it would be quite a change of direction. 
• Gerard Greaves – Mail deputy editor, recently poached from the MoS. If a successor has already been found it will be someone like him.
• Ted Verity – The other Mail deputy editor. Serious candidate but is he ready for the leap?
• Ben Taylor – Currently the Mail’s executive news editor. Some smart money going on him in Northcliffe House.
• Martin Clarke – Editor of MailOnline. Long-time rival of Dacre. But the only Mail employee mentioned in his letter to staff last night…
• Chris Evans – Telegraph editor. He’s done really well there.
• George Osborne – A move to a Mail title seems like a sensible next step in the career of this up-and-coming journalist.
• Boris Johnson – Did not rule himself out last night. (Sure he was joking.)
• Michael Gove and Sarah Vine job share – Alas they have loftier ambitions.

Guido genuinely fears that without Dacre acting as sentinel Britain will be imperilled on so many fronts. Important for the future of the nation that the Mail makes the right choice…

Virgin Trains has reversed its decision not to stock the Daily Mail on its services and will revert to selling the newspaper, Richard Branson announced this morning. Branson backed down in a statement: