The proprietor of the Daily Mail told its editor that David Cameron pressed for him to be sacked during the EU referendum, BBC Newsnight has learned.
Lord Rothermere told Paul Dacre the prime minister urged him to rein in his pro-Brexit editor, then suggested he sack him, a source told the BBC.
The Mail mounted a vociferous campaign for Brexit in the run up to the vote.
A spokesman for Mr Cameron said he "did not believe he could determine who edits the Daily Mail".
The disclosure casts fresh light on one of the most bitter personal enmities of the Brexit campaign.
Newsnight understands the prime minister personally tried to persuade Mr Dacre to "cut him some slack" in a private meeting in his No 10 Downing Street flat on 2 February, the day European Council President Donald Tusk unveiled details of the deal negotiated by Mr Cameron for the UK.
Mr Dacre told Mr Cameron he would not temper his editorial line on Brexit because he had been a committed Eurosceptic for more than 25 years and believed his readers were too.
In early March, Mr Dacre was told by a Westminster source that the prime minister had tried to persuade Lord Rothermere, a strong supporter of the UK remaining in the EU, to sack him. The Daily Mail editor was said to be "incandescent" and his resolve to campaign for Brexit "stiffened".
Only after the referendum, in July, did Lord Rothermere tell his editor of the pressure he said the prime minister had applied.
The Daily Mail's sustained and strident campaign for Brexit is regarded by some observers as a significant factor contributing to June's historic vote to leave the EU.
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:43 pm