Industry | 2009.06.12
Lord Carter expected to quit
Minister to step down after publication of Digital Britain and has been tipped to join ITV as chief executive
The communications minister, Lord Carter, is to leave his job after next week\'s Digital Britain report is published, the government is expected to confirm today.
It is understood that Carter will leave the government by the end of next month, but it is not clear whether he already has a new job lined up.
The Times reported today that Carter, whom Gordon Brown recruited 18 months ago, is set to return to the private sector.
His departure will increase speculation that he is in the running for ITV chief executive.
The job has been up for grabs since the ITV executive chairman, Michael Grade, announced his intention to step back from day-to-day management in April.
Grade is to become ITV\'s non-executive chairman, with the company saying it intends to have a new chief executive in place by the end of the year.
On Tuesday, Carter is due to release the government\'s Digital Britain report , which is set to shape the future of the UK\'s communications industries.
The report is expected to set out the government\'s policies on a range of media, technology and telecoms issues including universal broadband, internet piracy, the future of Channel 4 and UK public service broadcasting, and possible assistance for struggling local and regional newspaper publishers.
Lord Carter did not deny that he was planning to leave the government.
"I\'m beavering away feverishly on my report, that\'s my only preoccupation," he told the Times.
Carter dismissed suggestions that he had already lined up another job, but refused to confirm that he would still be a minister by autumn.
Carter became a No 10 strategy adviser in January last year, after nine months as chief executive of City PR firm Brunswick. Before that he was chief executive of Ofcom from its establishment at the start of 2003 until mid-2006.
The 45-year-old Aberdeen University graduate began his career as a graduate trainee at ad agency J Walter Thompson in 1986. By 1994 Carter was chief executive of the agency\'s UK and Ireland operation.
In 2000 he moved to cable company NTL – now part of Virgin Media – as managing director.
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