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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| David Cameron 'asked Daily Mail owner to sack Paul Dacre over Brexit' | David Cameron 'asked Daily Mail owner to sack Paul Dacre over Brexit' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| David Cameron pressed the owner of the Daily Mail to sack his avowedly pro-Brexit editor, Paul Dacre, in the run-up to last year’s EU referendum, according to a report by the BBC’s Newsnight programme. | David Cameron pressed the owner of the Daily Mail to sack his avowedly pro-Brexit editor, Paul Dacre, in the run-up to last year’s EU referendum, according to a report by the BBC’s Newsnight programme. |
| In an account denied by a spokesman for Cameron, a source told the programme that Lord Rothermere, whose family owns the newspaper, told Dacre that the then-prime minister had suggested he sack him. | In an account denied by a spokesman for Cameron, a source told the programme that Lord Rothermere, whose family owns the newspaper, told Dacre that the then-prime minister had suggested he sack him. |
| The Mail was one of the most vociferous voices for Britain to leave the EU before the 23 June referendum. | The Mail was one of the most vociferous voices for Britain to leave the EU before the 23 June referendum. |
| According to Newsnight, Dacre and Cameron met at the PM’s Downing Street flat on 2 February 2016, the day after Cameron’s planned new deal with the EU to ward off Brexit was announced. | |
| There, the source told Newsnight, Cameron asked Dacre to “cut him some slack”, but was rebuffed. | There, the source told Newsnight, Cameron asked Dacre to “cut him some slack”, but was rebuffed. |
| Early the following month, Dacre was told by a “Westminster source” that Cameron had sought to persuade Rothermere – who inherited French nationality, along with the newspaper, from his father for tax reasons – to sack him, making the editor “incandescent” and all the more determined to push for Brexit. | Early the following month, Dacre was told by a “Westminster source” that Cameron had sought to persuade Rothermere – who inherited French nationality, along with the newspaper, from his father for tax reasons – to sack him, making the editor “incandescent” and all the more determined to push for Brexit. |
| According to Newsnight, it was only in July, after the referendum, that Rothermere peronally told his editor of the pressure from Cameron. | According to Newsnight, it was only in July, after the referendum, that Rothermere peronally told his editor of the pressure from Cameron. |
| A spokesman for Cameron said he “did not believe he could determine who edits the Daily Mail”, but had sought to persuade Rothermere and Dacre over Brexit. | A spokesman for Cameron said he “did not believe he could determine who edits the Daily Mail”, but had sought to persuade Rothermere and Dacre over Brexit. |
| A spokesman for Rothermere refused to confirm or deny the story. The spokesman said: “Over the years, Lord Rothermere has been leant on by more than one prime minister to remove Associated Newspapers’ editors but, as he told Lord Justice Leveson on oath, he does not interfere with the editorial policies of his papers.” | A spokesman for Rothermere refused to confirm or deny the story. The spokesman said: “Over the years, Lord Rothermere has been leant on by more than one prime minister to remove Associated Newspapers’ editors but, as he told Lord Justice Leveson on oath, he does not interfere with the editorial policies of his papers.” |
| Dacre said in a statement: “For 25 years, I have been given the freedom to edit the Mail on behalf of its readers without interference from Jonathan Rothermere or his father. It has been a great joy and privilege.” | Dacre said in a statement: “For 25 years, I have been given the freedom to edit the Mail on behalf of its readers without interference from Jonathan Rothermere or his father. It has been a great joy and privilege.” |
| A spokesman for Cameron said: “It is wrong to suggest that David Cameron believed he could determine who edits the Daily Mail. 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. | A spokesman for Cameron said: “It is wrong to suggest that David Cameron believed he could determine who edits the Daily Mail. 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. |
| “He made this argument privately to the editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre, and its proprietor, Lord Rothermere.” | “He made this argument privately to the editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre, and its proprietor, Lord Rothermere.” |