Craig Oliver (British journalist)
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Sir Craig Stewart Oliver (born 15 May 1969) is a British news editor, producer and media executive, and the former Director of Politics and Communications for British prime minister David Cameron. Previously, he was Controller of English news output for BBC Global News, responsible for commissioning the news content for the corporation's English-language global services, including the BBC World Service,
BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and ...
and
BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...
.


Early life

Oliver was born in Basford,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
. His father, Ian, relocated the family to Scotland on his promotion to Chief Constable of
Central Scotland Police Central Scotland Police was the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire (the former Central region). The headquarters of the force were at Randolphfield House in Stirling. ...
, then later Chief Constable of Grampian Police. Craig Oliver attended
Stirling High School Stirling High School is a state high school for 11- to 18-year-olds run by Stirling Council in Stirling, Scotland. It is one of seven high schools in the Stirling district, and has approximately 972 pupils. It is located on Torbrex Farm Road, ...
, where he was a contemporary of the presenter
Kirsty Young Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968) is a Scottish television and radio presenter. From 2006 to 2018 she was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs''. She presented ''Crimewatch'' on BBC One from 2008 to 2015. Early ...
, then went on to read English literature at the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
.


Career


Journalism

After graduating with a diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the Cardiff School of Journalism, Oliver began his media career in 1992 as a reporter for STV. One of his first assignments for the station was covering a fire in a block of flats in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
's Easterhouse district. In 1993 he joined ITN as a trainee reporter, after which he became a producer on ITV's '' News at Ten''. With the launch of Channel Five in 1997 he moved from ''News at Ten'' to become programme editor of '' Five News'', but returned to ITV in 1999 as senior programme editor for ''
ITV Evening News The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Mary Nightingale. ...
''. He moved to ''
Channel Four News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
'' in 2002, but once again returned to ITV News the following year when he was appointed Head of Output. He was later promoted to Head of Network News Programming. Oliver joined the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 2006, where he became editor of
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's Ten O'Clock News, He was also editor of the channel's Six O'Clock News. In May 2009, Oliver was appointed the new deputy head of the Corporation's multimedia newsroom, replacing Mary Hockaday. Oliver was subsequently appointed Controller of English, BBC Global News in April 2010, with responsibility for multiplatform commissioning of all BBC Global News English output. He took up this role after editing the BBC's 2010 general election coverage. At BBC World, he was part of the team which oversaw cuts to the Corporation's
World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
.


Director of Communications

On 2 February 2011, he was appointed Andy Coulson's replacement as Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street, having been recommended by Coulson for the job. He took up this position on 28 February. He committed a political faux pas at the following weekend's Conservative Party Spring Conference after accidentally showing his notes for David Cameron's keynote speech to photographers. On 24 May 2012, Oliver was named in documents submitted to the Leveson Inquiry into media standards as being one of eight Downing Street advisers to have had contact with
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
lobbyist Frédéric Michel. Oliver and Michel dined together in July 2011 after news broke concerning the
News of the World phone hacking scandal News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. New ...
, but Oliver did not have to declare the dinner on the register of interests as they split the bill. On 28 May 2012, video footage was posted on the internet of Oliver reprimanding
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
correspondent Norman Smith over the content of a story concerning a memo
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strateg ...
Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...
sent to David Cameron about his thoughts on News Corporation's bid to take full control of BSkyB. Oliver did not appear to realise the cameras were rolling during their exchange. On 12 December 2012, it was claimed that during a telephone call to ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' Oliver had warned the newspaper against running a critical story on MPs expenses claimed by Culture Secretary
Maria Miller Dame Maria Frances Miller'MILLER, Rt Hon. Maria (Frances Lewis)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 ...
because of her role in enacting proposals in the
Leveson report The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series o ...
. Downing Street denied that any threats were made. The Parliamentary Commission for Standards subsequently launched an investigation into Miller's expenses.


Post-Downing Street career

Oliver was knighted in the 2016 Resignation Honours after David Cameron stepped down as Prime Minister in the wake of the European Union membership referendum. After leaving Downing Street, Oliver wrote an account of the referendum campaign, published in October 2016. The book, ''Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit'', was serialised in ''
The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...
'' in September 2016, and claims that David Cameron felt "badly let down" by
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
(who was
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
during the referendum campaign) because she failed to back the Remain side. Oliver has also entered the "revolving door" and become Principal at
Teneo Teneo is a public relations and advisory company. The company was founded in June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Paul Keary, and Doug Band, and currently has more than 1,450 employees located in 40 offices. In 2019, Teneo sold a majority stake to  ...
, a consultancy that already employs
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
as a consultant, where he will advise on strategy.


Business interests

In June 2010 Oliver became a director of BBC World News Limited. From 2005 to 2011, he served as company secretary to Paya Ltd, a company founded by his wife, but declared his intention to relinquish this role upon taking up his position at Downing Street.


In popular culture

Oliver was portrayed by actor
Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2014, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of William Sha ...
in the 2019 HBO and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
produced drama entitled '' Brexit: The Uncivil War''.


Personal life

Oliver married
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
presenter Joanna Gosling in 1996 and they had three children together. Oliver and Gosling separated in March 2014.


References


External links


Craig Oliver , Financial Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Craig 1969 births People from Nottingham People educated at Stirling High School Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the University of St Andrews STV News newsreaders and journalists BBC executives British special advisers Knights Bachelor Living people Conservative Party (UK) officials