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Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre has pulled out of the race to be next chairman of media regulator Ofcom and launched a blistering attack on the civil servants he accuses of blocking his appointment.
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.
Mr Dacre said he would instead take up an 'exciting new job in the private sector' and attacked senior Whitehall figures' determination to exclude anyone with right-of-centre 'convictions'.
He called his encounters with senior civil servants an ‘infelicitous dalliance with the Blob’.
Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre has blasted civil servants as he publicly withdrew from the race to become the next chairman of media regulator Ofcom
He wrote: 'To anyone from the private sector, who, God forbid, has convictions, and is thinking of applying for a public appointment, I say the following: The civil service will control (and leak) everything.
'The process could take a year in which your life will be put on hold; and if you are possessed of an independent mind and are unassociated with the liberal/left, you will have more chance of winning the lottery than 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.
He wrote: 'I'm taking up an exciting new job in the private sector that, in a climate that is
