Boris Johnson has reportedly offered two of the top jobs in the media to outspoken critics of the BBC who are also right-wing Brexiteers.
Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, is the prime minister’s choice to become chairman of Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, according to the Times.
He will replace Lord Burns who is due to leave before the end of the year.
Lord Moore, the former editor of the Daily Telegraph, has been asked by the prime minister to take up the post of BBC chairman, the publication reported.
Lord Moore has condemned the criminalisation of those who refuse to pay the licence fee.
The potential appointments could send shockwaves through the broadcasting establishment that is often perceived as the natural home for more liberal-minded executives.
Mr Dacre will reportedly want to crack down on alleged BBC bias and encourage the corporation to downsize and focus on its core public service responsibilities.
During his editorship at the Daily Mail, Dacre was also highly critical of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook that earn huge sums by recycling stories from other media outlets without payment and peddle “fake news”.
“This is part of a process of the prime minister putting allies in key positions,” said one source close to Mr Johnson told the Times.
A government spokesperson said the application process for the new chair of the BBC and Ofcom shortly.
"It is an open recruitment process and all public appointments are subject to a robust and fair selection criteria,” they said.
