Race for Ofcom job heats up

The Times has reported that the government is said to favour two Labour peers for the job of running the new broadcast regulator envisaged in the draft Communications Bill – Ofcom.
The news that Lord Currie and Lord Eatwell are in the frame for the chairmanship of the organisation will be seen by the Opposition as another example of 'Tony's Cronies' invading the more powerful non-governmental organisations in Britain.
Also in the frame are the heads of two of the five bodies that will be swallowed up by the centralising of regulatory agencies – Richard Hooper, chairman of the Radio Authority, and director general of Oftel, David Edmonds. The roles of the ITC and Broadcasting Standards Commissions will also be subsumed by Ofcom.
An outsider in the race for the top post is former Financial Times editor Richard Lambert.
Interviews are expected to conclude shortly and the end of this month has been timetabled for the setting up of a board for the macro-regulator. Following the interview stage, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will have final say over who becomes Ofcom's first chairman.
The storm over cronyism first emerged when Greg Dyke, a Labour supporter and party donor, was elevated to the job of BBC director general. Then came the appointment of economist Gavyn Davies, also a Labour supporter and party donor, as BBC chairman.
The prominence of Lord Eatwell within the government will see the crony clamour gather gusto as the Labour peer is Lords treasury spokesman and a former adviser to Neil Kinnock. However, Lord Eatwell has refused to comment on the matter "for really quite complicated reasons".
Draft Communications Bill, www.communicationsbill.gov.uk
(GMcG)