After 26 years, Paul Dacre’s leaving the Daily Mail, and Twitter is taking him down

The Daily Mail logo altered to read 'Daily Fail'
Fréa Lockley


On 6 June, Paul Dacre announced that he’s stepping down as editor of the Daily Mail. But despite 26 years of service, there’s little celebration of the role he’s played in the UK media. In fact, people on Twitter are taking him down in style.

Bye then…

The BBC‘s Amol Rajan claimed to have the scoop:

And it didn’t take long for confirmation from other media outlets.

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But on Twitter, the news caused quite a stir. And lots of people wished him good riddance:

Erm, quite a lot of people actually:

“The most dangerous man in Britain”

The Guardian called Dacre possibly “the most dangerous man in Britain”, who made sure the Mail remains the “UK’s most fanatical anti-liberal voice”. Because under his watch, endless Mail front pages have spewed out vitriol about immigrants, poor people, women, and anyone who doesn’t ‘fit’ an outmoded and elitist image of ‘middle England’:

Lord Adonis said his departure called for “national rejoicing”, and others agreed:

Because Dacre does seem to have quite close links to the Tory government:

Some also pointed out Dacre’s faux morality:

Who’s next?

The Guardian reported that likely candidates to replace Dacre include:

the Mail on Sunday editor, Geordie Greig, who has regularly clashed with Dacre and supported remain in the EU referendum, MailOnline editor Martin Clarke, and current Daily Mail deputy editor, Gerard Greaves.

But Twitter had an abundance of other suggestions:

Former chancellor George Osborne did head from the cabinet to the Evening Standard, so we can’t rule anything out. But some suggestions were – if possible – even more worrying:

See ya…

This news isn’t entirely a cause for celebration, though. Because Dacre is set to “serve as chairman and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, which owns the Daily Mail”. So the very real possibility is that he will now actually have more power and greater influence. But despite this, there’s no denying that the response on social media truly has shown the extent of public feeling towards him and the toxic right-wing media he represents.

So sometimes, a picture really does say a thousand words:

Cheers and gone then, Mr Dacre.

Many people really won’t miss him. But sadly, the Mail will still remain on sale.

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Featured image via Kerry-Anne Mendoza

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