James Chapman (journalist)


James Chapman is a British public relations executive, a former UK Government adviser, and former political editor of the Daily Mail.

Early life

Chapman did work experience at the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton at the age of 14. He went to St Peter's College, Oxford from 1996–99 and studied English, being tutored by playwright Francis Warner.

Career

Chapman began his career at the Daily Mail, working for the title for 17 years. In 2002, he became Science and Environment correspondent. He became Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mail in 2005; in March 2009 he became Political Editor.
He was appointed Director of Communications at HM Treasury by the then Chancellor George Osborne in 2015. He was named one of the UK's 100 best connected men in 2016 by GQ magazine.
He was appointed Chief of Staff at the new Department for Exiting the European Union in 2016 working for the minister David Davis. He ceased working for Davis in the summer of 2017.
Chapman became a partner at London-based PR firm Bell Pottinger in 2017, shortly before the company declared bankruptcy.
It was reported in July 2017 that Chapman is to become a political columnist for The Guardian newspaper, in addition to his job at Bell Pottinger, writing about the Conservative Party and Brexit.
In summer 2017 Chapman began tweeting his proposals for a new centrist political party, 'The Democrats', opposed to Brexit.

Personal life

His wife is Greek-born jeweller Erato Porphyrios. They married on the island of Spetses in 2004. They had a son in September 2006, and a second son in October 2009.