Telegraph chairman told David Cameron to call editor every day (UK media inquiry)

Source: The Guardian

The chairman of the company behind the Daily Telegraph texted David Cameron before the last election to suggest the Conservative leader speak to the editor of his newspaper every day during the campaign to ensure his party's message was getting across in the broadsheet.

Aidan Barclay texted the would-be prime minister in March 2010 after a breakfast meeting with him at the Ritz hotel, which his family also owns, saying he had "spoken to Tony G" – Tony Gallagher, the editor of the Daily Telegraph – and they would "arrange a daily call during the campaign as discussed".

Giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry, in a rare public appearance, Barclay explained he believed that if Cameron "wanted to get the attention of the editor [of the Telegraph] and wanted to get his message across in the most efficient manner, he should make a habit of phoning him on a daily basis and I recommended that's what they should do".

The Telegraph chairman said he did not check "on a daily basis" if the calls took place, and it is understood that the Conservative leader only rang Gallagher three or four times during the election campaign, which eventually saw the Conservatives returned to office in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/apr/23/telegraph-chairman-david-cameron-editor