Flashes of anger but Paul Dacre keeps his head before court cut-off

Wed, 11 Feb 2026

Former Mail editor was barely audible on witness stand while claimants’ barrister raced against judge’s deadline

Paul Dacre was “no shrinking violet” in the 27 years he edited the Daily Mail, he said in his witness statement to the high court in London this week. He had “captained a tough ship” in order to safeguard “the ‘patina’ and prestige that differentiated the Daily Mail from other titles, both the popular ones and the so-called quality newspapers”.

Others have described the editor’s tenure, and the impact it had on the UK, differently. Widely regarded as “the most powerful print journalist in Britain” (Politico) until he stood down in 2021, to his critics Dacre was “the man who hated liberal Britain” (New Statesman), and even the country’s “most dangerous man” (Observer).