London - British Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed BBC executive Craig Oliver as his director of communications, following the departure of Andy Coulson in the wake of the tabloid phone-hacking scandal.
Oliver, 41, has spent most of the past decade in broadcast journalism, in contrast to Coulson who rose through the ranks of newspapers to become News of the World editor before joining Downing Street.
Coulson stepped down last month although he always denied being aware of any hacking of celebrities' phones while he was at the News of the World.
Oliver, who is married to BBC news presenter Joanna Gosling, is likely to be seen as a less controversial choice than Coulson, given his relatively low profile.
Cameron's office said on Wednesday he would be employed as a special adviser.
“It's difficult to leave the BBC after a fascinating few years - but this is an opportunity I can't turn down,” Oliver said in a statement. - Reuters