The prime minister has appointed David Dinsmore, the chief operating officer at News UK and former editor of The Sun, as the new permanent secretary-level director of communications.
Dinsmore will lead the Government Communication Service, the professional body that oversees communications activity across government.
He will take up the newly created position in November, and will be based in the Cabinet Office.
His appointment was announced by Sir Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, on Wednesday afternoon with the approval of the PM, Keir Starmer.
Wormald said: “I congratulate David on his appointment as permanent secretary director of communications. He brings years of executive experience to the task of transforming the way we communicate with the public.
“Effective communication is one of the government’s core democratic duties. I’m confident that under David’s leadership the Government Communication Service will take advantage of the rapidly evolving media landscape and go from strength to strength.”
The new permanent secretary role has been created to “transform how the government communicates with the public and reform the Government Communication Service’s output across all departments and agencies”, the Cabinet Office said in a press release confirming the appointment.
Dinsmore “will be responsible for delivering the government’s communications strategy in a way that reflects the modern media environment and the government’s commitment to deliver the Plan for Change”, it added.
Dinsmore said it was “an honour to be asked to lead this important mission at such a pivotal moment”.
“Clear and engaging communications are central to public trust, policy delivery, and national resilience,” he said. “The media landscape is evolving at a rapid pace, supercharged by AI, and I look forward to helping the government leverage the exciting opportunities in front of us.”
However, the appointment – which follows an external recruitment competition overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission – is not without controversy.
When Dinsmore's hiring was being reported but had not yet been confirmed, Liverpool MPs Ian Byrne, Paula Barker and Kim Johnson wrote to Starmer to express their concerns, on account of The Sun's notorious coverage of 1989's Hillsborough disaster.
Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram also posted on X: "Ordinarily, I wouldn't comment on staffing decisions – especially those involving civil servants who, too often, are subjected to unfair criticism – but given the context, I feel compelled to speak out".
He went on to say that in light of Hillsborough, the former Sun man felt like a "deeply insensitive choice".