The government has chosen the former chairman of Channel 4, Lord Burns, to be the new chairman of the media regulator Ofcom.
Burns will replace Patricia Hodgson in January if a pre-appointment hearing with the parliamentary digital, culture, media and sport select committee is successful.
The government said in a statement that the committee’s conclusions from the hearing next month would be considered carefully before the appointment was formally approved.
Burns is on course to be paid £120,000 a year in the job for working up to three days a week. He was chairman of Channel 4 for six years before it was announced in 2015 that he would leave as the government considered plans to privatise the broadcaster, which he opposed.
It is understood the government vetoed Ofcom’s plans to allow him to extend his term in the job. Burns said the privatisation of Channel 4 would have “little financial benefit” and questioned how the-then culture secretary, John Whittingdale, was handling the job.
He will work alongside Sharon White, the chief executive of Ofcom, at a crucial time for the regulator. This year it began regulating the BBC and it is also helping the Competition and Markets Authority with its investigation into whether 21st Century Fox, which is controlled by the Murdoch family, will be allowed to buy Sky.
Burns held senior positions in the Treasury before moving to the private sector. He was chief economic adviser to the Treasury and head of the government economic service from 1980 to 1991, then permanent secretary to the Treasury between 1991 and 1998.
He went on to become chairman of Santander UK, Marks & Spencer, Welsh Water, the National Lottery Commission and the Royal Academy of Music.
Burns is presently a non-executive member of the Office for Budget Responsibility, which provides economic forecasts for the Treasury, and a senior adviser to Banco Santander.
Ofcom welcomed the announcement. A spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the DCMS has announced a preferred candidate for the role of Ofcom chairman. We will await the outcome of the pre-appointment hearing.”
