David Cameron battled the Daily Mail for national mastery, and lost | Martin Kettle

When the then prime minister fought the Mail’s editor Paul Dacre, he underestimated the destructive power the Eurosceptic press would draw from the Brexit vote

If anyone was still in the slightest doubt about why David Cameron might have tried to get Paul Dacre sacked as editor of the Daily Mail during the Brexit referendum campaign, as alleged by the BBC’s Newsnight this week, they only had to pick up a copy of Dacre’s paper on Thursday morning.

Seven months on from the result that brought Cameron’s prime ministership crashing down, Dacre’s Brexiteering triumphalism is undiminished. “Momentous day for Britain – we have lift-off!” shouted the headline on a front page that contained no fewer than three union jacks and an image of Winston Churchill, all triggered by Wednesday’s crushing Commons vote to trigger Brexit. Only 114 MPs “betray will of the people”, said the paper, exuding joy and menace.

Our politicians still belve that the press still rules the political ring. It’s as if the digital age never existed

Related: David Cameron asked Daily Mail owner to sack Paul Dacre over Brexit

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