London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Cronyism fears as businessman Sir Ian Cheshire is named head of Channel 4

Cronyism fears as businessman Sir Ian Cheshire is named head of Channel 4

Jon Snow and other leading broadcasters express concern over appointment and call for C4’s public service remit to be protected

Ministers have been accused of another case of cronyism over the appointment of the new Channel 4 chair. Veteran businessman Sir Ian Cheshire has been chosen to oversee the broadcaster, which has been beset with rumours that it faces privatisation.

Cheshire, former chief executive of Kingfisher, the B&Q owner, served on a business taskforce for former prime minister David Cameron. He also oversaw the selection process under which Tory donor Ben Goldsmith was appointed to the board of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He is chairman of Goldsmith’s investment firm.

Cheshire’s appointment was greeted with surprise and concern from leading broadcasting figures. Two acclaimed former Channel 4 names, news anchor Jon Snow and Dorothy Byrne, the former head of news and current affairs, were among those to call on the new chair to protect the public-service remit of the 40-year-old commercial channel.

“We have to hope Sir Ian puts the public good first and is not just an arm of the Conservative government,” said Byrne. “In a world where there is a lot of money for costume dramas, we should not forget that wider broadcasting is vital for democracy.”

Cheshire, 62, is a recent business adviser to Whitehall and has previously backed key Conservative policies. Until January 2020 he was the chair of Barclays UK. He is credited with turning around Kingfisher plc, where he was chief executive until 2015, after a radical restructuring.

Channel 4 is owned by the public but funded by advertising. Its privatisation has long been in the sights of prominent members of the Conservative party. The appointment this weekend has prompted fresh fears that the state ownership of the commercial channel remains under threat.

Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, accused culture secretary Nadine Dorries of “appointing a ‘yes man’ to pave the way for the sell-off of a great British broadcaster in the face of severe opposition in the independent production sector, as well as from the Tory backbenchers”.

Jon Snow says he hopes Cheshire will protect the public service strengths of the channel.


Cheshire’s appointment follows the controversial announcement last month that Michael Grade, a Conservative peer, will be the new chair of Ofcom, the national broadcasting and communications technology watchdog. Lord Grade has been openly sceptical about the value of public service status in television.

The approval of Grade’s appointment last week led to an unexpected intervention by the Conservative chair of parliament’s broadcasting oversight committee. In an official statement, Julian Knight MP said: “The appointments process feels broken.”

Grade, who has chaired ITV, the BBC and Pinewood Shepperton during a long career, was questioned last week by the members of Knight’s digital, culture, media and sport committee about his knowledge of the digital world and telecommunications.

“The fact that the DCMS [the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] has taken only a matter of hours to put aside our concerns highlights once again that there are serious underlying issues at play here,” Knight said, adding that, despite the committee’s concerns, it wished the best to both Grade and Orlando Fraser, who has just been appointed chair of the Charity Commission.

“They both have a huge job on their hands, and the committee will be there to scrutinise and to help,” Knight concluded.

Both appointments were swiftly rubber-stamped by the culture department, although Knight’s committee had not formally endorsed Fraser and had expressed worries about Grade’s “clear lack of depth” on the subjects of social media and online safety.

Powell said the appointments of Cheshire and Grade meant key media jobs were going to the government’s political allies. “Coming fresh off the heels of the appointment of a Tory peer as head of Ofcom, this decision stinks of more cronyism,” she said. “Rather than advancing their war on Channel 4, a big driver of creative employment outside London, the Tories should focus on independent appointees who can do the job.”

Jamie Stone, the Lib Dem culture spokesman, said there was an urgent need for “fiercely independent media like Channel 4” and added: “Given this government’s longstanding determination to sell off Channel 4, a great British success story, to their rich City friends, this appointment needs proper scrutiny.”

Approving Cheshire for the Channel 4 role, Dorries said he had “an impressive record at the helm of some of Britain’s biggest businesses”.

Snow, speaking on Saturday, hoped Cheshire would confound expectation and protect “the public-service strengths of the channel”.

“I can’t believe the government has time to think about the privatisation of Channel 4 now, but unfortunately that seems to be the drift. Sir Ian would have to have no interest in broadcasting to be in favour of privatisation. So let’s hope he does have an interest in it.”

Byrne, who is now president of Murray Edwards College Cambridge, said the right new chair of Channel 4 should have the type of business background that can “help find new business models to maintain its public service broadcasting. Ideally, that would be somebody who is technical and digitally savvy, so this is a surprising appointment from the business perspective. We hope Sir Ian will learn. It is vital that he puts the interests of the public first and protects Channel 4’s role in reflecting the diversity of Britain.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
×