David Dinsmore | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Dinsmore 2 September 1968 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Senior civil servant |
| Employer | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Title | Permanent Secretary for Communications [1] |
| Permanent Secretary for Communications | |
| Assumed office 30 July 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
David Dinsmore (born 2 September 1968) [2] is a senior civil servant and former editor of The Sun newspaper.
Dinsmore grew up in Glasgow, [3] and began working for News International at the age of 22. [4]
He was employed by the Clydebank Post and then later he worked as a reporter for the Eastwood Mercury,Milngavie Herald and Kirkintilloch Herald newspapers. [5]
In 1991,Dinsmore became a casual reporter for the Scottish Sun newspaper. At the same time he began a degree in business management at Paisley University. His first full-time role as a reporter came with the Daily Star in their Edinburgh office. [5]
Dinsmore returned to the Scottish Sun as a reporter in 1994,he then rose through the ranks of that paper to become sub-editor,then chief sub-editor. and made the move to London after becoming picture editor of the News of the World under Phil Hall. [5]
In 2004,Dinsmore became night editor of The Sun ,and in 2006,he was appointed editor of the Scottish edition of the paper,serving until 2010. [4] He then became general manager of the paper in Scotland,then in quick succession managing editor in London,and director of operations for News International. [6] Dinsmore was appointed editor of The Sun in June 2013,replacing Dominic Mohan. [7]
Following his appointment to the job,he faced criticism as a result of the growing support for the No More Page 3 campaign,which challenged the appropriateness of bare breasts in the family newspaper. In November 2013,he stated that he had no intention of dropping the Page 3 feature,despite the pressure from campaign supporters including politicians,celebrities and student bodies. [8] In December 2014,Dinsmore was named sexist of the year by End Violence Against Women. [9] [10] [11] The Page 3 feature of a topless women came to end in January 2015. [12]
Under his editorship The Sun's online presence went behind a paywall,however Dinsmore is credited with growing the online subscriber base,doubling the number of paying customers from an initial 117,000 to 225,000. [13] [14] Dinsmore has won also plaudits from the media industry,ranking at 27 in the 2014 Media Guardian 100, [15] and at 67 in GQ magazine's 2015 'Most Connected Men in Britain' list. [16] On 2 September 2015,he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of News UK,and Tony Gallagher succeeded him as editor of The Sun. [17]
In 2016 he was convicted of breaking the Sexual Offences (Amendment) act after inadvertently revealing the identity of a victim of a sexual offence. [18]
In late July 2025,Dinsmore was appointed "permanent secretary for communications" for the UK government. [19]
David Dinsmore, editor, The Sun, 45
