No 10 has a new director of communications

Cameron replaces Coulson with BBC man

Cameron replaces Coulson with BBC man

By Ian Dunt

David Cameron has replaced Andy Coulson with Craig Oliver, former controller of BBC Global News.

The move marks a significant change in emphasis at No 10 towards broadcast journalism.

Mr Coulson had been criticised on numerous occasions for his preoccupation with a handful of print titles.

“I’m delighted to be joining David Cameron and his team at such an exciting and challenging time,” Mr Oliver said.

“It’s difficult to leave the BBC after a fascinating few years – but this is an opportunity I can’t turn down.”

Mr Oliver’s role at the BBC will have seen him do considerable online work as well, however. His Twitter profile lists his responsibilities as commissioning for the World Service, World News and bbc.com.

Before joining the BBC, Mr Oliver worked for ITN and ITV. He was responsible for the BBC’s election night coverage before taking on the controller role.

He has also been editor of BBC News at Ten and BBC News at Six, the most watched news programmes in Britain.

The decision will be taken as sign that Downing Street feels it has failed to properly take advantage of the mass reach of news channels.

But Mr Oliver ‘s lack of print experience might lead tabloids and broadsheets to adopt a more sceptical response to the new recruit.

Mr Coulson announced his departure from the prime minister’s team last month after the allegations of phone hacking during his tenure at News of the World overshadowed his job.

Mr Cameron has escaped any significant damage from the debacle, although that may change if the ongoing police investigation ends with charges against the former editor.