Will Dominic Cummings be able to replace the BBC with a British version of Fox News?

An unearthed blog suggests the prime minister’s chief of staff wants to overhaul the state broadcaster, writes John Rentoul

Cummings may have more than enough on his plate already (PA)

Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s adviser, now holds so much power that 16-year-old stories about him are being excavated for clues about the direction of Boris Johnson’s policy.

The latest is a blog post from the New Frontiers Foundation, a think tank run by Cummings, in 2004. It said that the BBC’s credibility needed “undermining”; called for “the creation of a Fox News equivalent” to “shift the centre of gravity”; and urged “the end of the ban on TV political advertising”.

This is relevant in the light of Johnson’s difficult relationship with the BBC – he refuses to appear on the Today programme – the vacancy for director-general, and the doubts over the future of the licence fee.