Grade faces a pre-appointment hearing before the Commons committee’s digital, culture, media and sports committee this week before finally being approved for the role. The members of the committee are considered to have concerns about the 79-year-old’s suitability to oversee the regulatory authority. The selection of Grade, who has led the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, came after a protracted battle to oust former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre. Dacre was initially rejected as “unappointed” by a selection committee. The ministers then resumed the process before Dakre resigned. While Grade’s appointment has been approved by a selection committee, industry executives and lawmakers are now raising concerns. Just last month, Grad defended Boris Johnson over the “partygate” controversy and said there should be no leadership election. He criticized the BBC’s approach to reporting the story as “happy and disrespectful”, as well as “overly aggressive”. He also said that the BBC’s request for funds to avoid cuts was “a horrible decision”. Grad criticized the “awake brigade” and spoke favorably of the possible privatization of Channel 4. A senior Tory lawmaker has privately expressed concerns about Gray’s impartiality. “He has very public views on a number of issues on which Ofcom should be neutral,” they said. When he was chairman of the Fundraiser, he was criticized for referring to some fundraisers as “cowboys” operating in the “wild west”. Others, meanwhile, have pointed to issues that have arisen in his career since leaving Channel 4 and virtually abandoning broadcasting in 1997. The degree has been linked to a number of failed businesses since. In 2020, Gate Ventures, a leisure investment company he co-chaired, entered management after a legal dispute with an investor who claimed the company was being mismanaged. The company also made “unexplained” business and personal loans to the Duchess of York of more than .000 500,000. The Supreme Court was informed that this included a personal loan of approximately 8 288,000. Grad was forced to appear in court in person after Gate Ventures’s lawyers resigned shortly after due to payment concerns. In the 2000s, he was president of the financial intelligence firm Hemscott, which was fined by the Financial Services Authority for misleading advertising. An industry expert familiar with Ofcom’s day-to-day operations said the presidency’s role was one that took a long time for legal issues that Grade was not suitable for. Another executive said: “To be president of Ofcom, you really need a legitimate brain. This takes so long. That’s not Michael’s business. “ Grade is experiencing intense grilling on Thursday. Julian Knight, chairman of the Torms’s DCMS committee, has already described the process of finding a suitable Ofcom leader as a “loss”. Rupa Hook said Grad’s appointment was part of an “awakening war.” Photo: Mark Kerrison / Alamy Grade will oversee Ofcom at a critical juncture, with the regulator having significant authority over online platforms such as Facebook. He also comes with ministers accused of a series of politically partisan appointments to major institutions. Ofcom’s presidency is a role three days a week. Rupa Hook, a member of the Culture Committee of the Labor Party, said something had “gone wrong” with the public appointment process. He said Grad’s appointment was part of a “war of attrition” by Culture Secretary Nandin Doris and Tory co-chair Oliver Dowden. “The fall of another top friend of the Tories to a leading position in public life, where the government’s loyalty seems to have been paramount in the selection criteria, is deeply troubling and part of a worrying motif,” he said. “The appointment of this well-known critic of the BBC and Channel 4 shows that the Conservatives are trying to silence our valuable national broadcasters,” said Jamie Stone, a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. At a time when Ofcom is being given huge new powers in policing online platforms, Michael Grade would be an analog chair in the digital age. “Members of parliament should strongly oppose this political staple and insist on a candidate who will protect our independent and impartial broadcasters, not do the dirty work of the government for them.” He contacted the grade for comment, but did not respond. It is understandable that he will resign from any non-executive positions that could create a conflict of interest. It will also sit as a peer bench when installed at work.
