Grade says Ofcom is already hiring experts to understand how tech companies use their algorithms
Julian Knight (Con), chairman of the committee, is asking questions now. Q: Are you ready to fight technology companies like Meta? Yes, says Grade. He says he spoke with Ofcom’s CEO. The government is already giving it more money to be ready for the responsibilities it will have when the cybersecurity bill becomes law. “We are working together now,” he says, speaking as if he had already joined Ofcom. He says recruitment is going “extremely well” and Ofcom has hired “one or two high-profile passengers from technology companies”. He says the priority is to ensure that Ofcom can match them for specialization. He says the bill would give Ofcom new powers to solicit information from tech companies, covering things like how their algorithms work. Q: And will you be able to understand them when you get them? Degree says he should be able to do that. It will recruit people who can understand them. Before 15 p.m. 09:40 Jane Stevenson (Con) is asking questions now. Q: What would you consider a success in this job? Grade says he would be happy if, after three years, there was an acknowledgment that Ofcom was clearing the “excesses” of the Internet. He says the internet in general is an “incredibly valuable resource”. Q: And what would be your message to Ofcom staff? Grade says the board is there to support them and maintain their independence. Just because he takes the whip of the Tories to the Lords, does not mean he is a political appointee. Ofcom decisions should always be based on evidence. Q: Do you think Ofcom staff would welcome your appointment? I hope so, says Grade. Updated at 10.51 BST 21 minutes ago 09:35
Ofcom’s presidential candidate, Lord Grade, admits he does not use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Grade says he does not use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. But it uses WhatsApp. Q: Given your lack of engagement with social media, wouldn’t that be problematic for you? Grade says he would not say he has no experience with this. He has three children and his 23-year-old student son “is never off his screen”. He says he understands the dynamics of social media. He says Ofcom board members may not be experts in every field they cover. But he says what matters is that Ofcom has access to the best advice. Q: If the committee says you should not get the job, will you turn it down? The grade says it will depend on what the committee said and how the culture department responded. Nicolson says, regardless of Grade’s biography, many people will simply conclude, “Thank God he’s not Paul Dacre.” Degree says there is no way to answer that. 26 minutes ago 09:29 There will be three urgent questions in the Commons this morning, starting soon. They will cover rape as a weapon of war. visas for refugees from Ukraine; and the Homes for Ukraine program. 29 minutes ago 09:26 Nicolson says the committee can not stop Grade’s appointment. He says, although Grade’s appointment was not inevitable, it was. Q: How would your appointment help Ofcom’s diversity? Degree says it can not change what it is. But it would push for more diversity at Ofcom. There is a problem at council level, he says. 31 minutes ago 09:24 John Nicolson (SNP) follows. Q: You talk a lot about “waking up”. How would you define it? Grade says there is a wonderful debate going on in the country. It covers a number of issues. But he is worried about his tone. Q: You described Ofcom officials as “awake warriors engineers.” You wrote about how “some idiot” complained about tanning on a show in the 1970s. Grade says he sometimes has strong views. Q: How do you think the “awakened warriors” at Ofcom will feel about your arrival? Grad says he came up with a channel that serves nostalgia and specializes in old-fashioned shows. Shows are obviously a part of history, he says. Nicolson says Grade is more logical now. Grade says that in the article quoted by Nicolson, he was trying to say something and help the channel. Q: And you have expressed your support for Laurence Fox, the actor who became a right-wing activist. Grad says he admires Fox’s courage. She says she has known the Fox family for a long time. He says Fox’s grandfather and father were business partners. 38 minutes ago 09:18 Clive Efford (Lab) is asking questions now. Q: You have expressed strong views in the past. Is this a problem? Grade says Ofcom makes decisions based on evidence. He says you should leave your views at the door. Q: What about our views on the BBC license fee? Grad says he pointed out how the BBC was asking for an increase in the leave fee at a time when its news bulletins were full of reports about the impact of the cost-of-life crisis. Q: What about your support for the privatization of Channel 4? Grad says he opposed the privatization of Channel 4 under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He says Ofcom would have no say in the privatization of Channel 4. Q: Were you Tory peers until recently? Grad says he spent a lifetime as a broadcaster resisting political pressure. Ofcom’s reputation depends on whether he is independent, he says. It is capable of “resisting unwarranted political pressure.” 43 minutes ago 09:12 Grade says he does not believe a candidate could have all the experience needed to cover the entire Ofcom mission. But he says he has experience being regulated, both as a broadcaster and as president of Camelot. And he has done a lot of work, he says. He was president of Ocado for seven years, he says. He says he is “adaptable”. He has worked in the public and private sectors. Q: What skills would you offer in this? The degree says it has people skills. Has a concern for clear governance. And he is “very consensual,” he says. He says that the strength of a chair “depends entirely on your ability to carry the hearts and minds of your colleagues on the board.” 47 meters before 09:08 Lord Grad just started giving evidence. He says he decided to apply for Ofcom’s job in November last year. He was not asked to apply, he says. He says he was thinking about internet security and thought there was important work to be done there. (The recently published Internet Security Bill will significantly extend Ofcom’s powers, giving it unprecedented powers to regulate social networking companies.) 50 meters before 09:05 By Bloomberg’s Kitty Donaldson ΔράDrama notification: Commons @CommonsDCMS Committee this morning rejected the government’s choice of a charity commissioner on the grounds that it was an “archetypal and unimaginable choice” – and is due to interview Tory’s co-chair Michael Grad for the presidency of Ofcom this morning – Kitty Donaldson (@kitty_donaldson) March 31, 2022 54 minutes ago 09:01 And here is a column by Jane Martinson, a former Guardian media editor and now journalism professor, about why Michael Grade should not take Ofcom’s job. 1 hour before 08:59
Michael Grade was asked by lawmakers about his suitability to become president of Ofcom
Michael Grade, the veteran broadcaster who ran the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 for a long career, is set to be questioned by the Commons digital committee as the government’s preferred candidate for the Ofcom presidency. The committee does not have the official power to block his appointment, but a critical assessment could prompt ministers to reconsider. Grade was finally appointed after a chaotic two-year process that saw the government try, and fail, to install former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre in place. Following is a preview of the hearing by Michael Savage and Richard Brooks. 1 hour before 08:49 In an interview with Today’s Today program, shadowy Chancellor Rachel Reeves has denied allegations that Labor was responsible for demanding the resignation of Boris Johnson during the Ukraine war. He said: The whole parliament is united in our response in Ukraine and if Boris Johnson replaced a different member of the cabinet, a different member of parliament … the position on Ukraine would not change. The House of Commons is united in our resolute response to Russia’s aggression and the needs of the Ukrainian people. The position of the UK government would not change if the Prime Minister changed. But at the moment we have a Prime Minister who does not fully respect the rules, he has treated the British people as if he were a fool and I do not think he is capable of governing. 1 hour before 08:45 In an interview with Sky News, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade minister, was also asked if it was appropriate for Boris Johnson to make a joke about the trans at the Tories dinner on Tuesday night. With Conservative MP Jamie Wallis coming out as a trans a few hours later, the timing could not have been worse. To say that Trevelyan defended Johnson would be a bit far-fetched. He downplayed it half-heartedly as a joke, before moving on quickly. He told Kay Burley: You know, jokes are made at dinners, I think … everyone who knows the Prime Minister knows that he has a very, very warm and affectionate personality and I think he is honest, you know, proud and affectionate and he wants you to support Jamie in his decision to share with the world choosing to present itself as trans. And I think, I mean, he’s a great young man and we’re very, very proud of him. 2 hours ago 08:22 Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade minister, was a caretaker minister this morning in a roundtable interview with Sky News when she was asked by Kay Burley if she accepted the Met’s decision to impose fines on with Partygate meant that the law was violated. That should not be a difficult question – the answer is yes, the law has been broken – but because Downing Street refuses to admit it, loyal ministers are trying to stay in line with the prime minister, who is postponing comment until the investigation is OVER. Trevelyan started with the faithful minister …
