Prime Minister Theresa May met with newspaper editors from nearly every major pro-Brexit newspaper over the summer, including both the current and former editors of the Daily Mail.
May’s meetings with top pressmen from the Sun, Telegraph, Mail and Spectator were revealed in transparency data made public yesterday. She did not however meet with the staunchly pro-Leave Express.
The Times, Guardian and Mirror editors were also not listed.
On 24 July, May had a “social meeting” with Geordie Greig a month after he was named as Paul Dacre’s replacement as Daily Mail editor. She then met Dacre for dinner in September as he stepped down.
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Scroll down for table of Theresa May’s press meetings (Jan to Sept)
The Prime Minister also attended a summer reception with senior Spectator editorial staff on 4 July. The meeting was attended by Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, chairman Andrew Neil and political editor James Forsyth.
The following day she met Sun editor-in-chief Tony Gallagher.
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On one day during this year’s Conservative Party conference she had separate meetings with the i paper and Telegraph for “general political” discussions.
The i’s editor Oliver Duff and political editor Nigel Morris were present at the paper’s meeting with the Prime Minister, while Daily Telegraph editor Chris Evans and political editor Gordon Rayner were present at the broadsheet’s party conference meeting.
On 21 June May met with Telegraph Media Group chairman Aidan Barclay for a “short discussion during the PM’s visit to the Defence National Rehabilitation Centre in Nottinghamshire”.
Press Gazette has contacted Downing Street for details of the Prime Minister’s meetings with Greig, Dacre and Gallagher.
Separate figures released earlier this year show that May registered the Queen’s Birthday Party concert on 20 April as hospitality from BBC director general Tony Hall.
During February, she met with Evening Standard editor George Osborne, the Johnston Press editorial board and BBC News director Fran Unsworth.
The Prime Minister also attended the Westminster Correspondents’ dinner, where she poked fun at Osborne.
Theresa May’s meetings with the press between January and September this year (source: gov.uk):
| Person(s) met | Date | Description of meeting / hospitality |
| Paul Dacre, Associated Newspapers | 10/09/2018 | Dinner |
| The Spectator (Fraser Nelson, Andrew Neil, James Forsyth) | 04/07/2018 | Summer reception |
| Tony Gallagher, The Sun | 05/07/2018 | Social meeting |
| Geordie Greig, Daily Mail | 24/07/2018 | Social meeting |
| The I newspaper (Oliver Duff and Nigel Morris) | 30/09/2018 | Party Conference/General Political Discussion |
| The Telegraph (Chris Evans and Gordon Rayner) | 30/09/2018 | Party Conference/General Political Discussion |
| Tony Hall, BBC Director-General | 20/04/2018 | Queen’s Birthday Party Concert |
| Diane Davies, Wolverhampton Express & Star Newspaper | 23/04/2018 | General discussion |
| Aidan Barclay, Telegraph Media Group | 21/06/2018 | Short discussion during the PM’s visit to Defence National Rehabilitation Centre in Nottinghamshire |
| Global Radio, Global TV and Global Entertainment, Nick Ferrari LBC, Dame Carolyn McCall ITV | 23/04/2018 | Seated with at Thirty Club during dinner/speaking engagement |
| Johnson Press Editorial Board | 19/02/2018 | Roundtable during visit to discuss education policy |
| George Osborne, Evening Standard | 20/02/2018 | Social meeting at No. 10 flat. |
| Fran Unsworth, BBC News | 22/02/2018 | Introductory meeting at No. 10 |
| Westminster Correspondents’ Dinner | 28/02/2018 | Dinner |
Picture: Reuters/Hannah McKay
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