David Cameron‘s sister-in-law Emily Sheffield will take over from George Osborne as editor of the Evening Standard, it was announced today.
The former Tory chancellor stepped down after three years to become the editor-in-chief of the London free newspaper instead.
Former deputy editor of Vogue Ms Sheffield – who has never shied away from airing her own political views – is set to take the reins on July 1 and said she is ‘very proud’ to land the role.
The 47-year-old mother-of-two is the younger sister of former prime minister Mr Cameron’s wife Samantha, 49. Their father Sir Reginald Sheffield is the eighth baronet of Normanby in the County of Lincoln and has held the role since 1977.
Samantha and Emily were products of his first marriage in 1969 to Viscountess Astor. The sisters have three half-siblings from Sir Reginald’s second marriage in 1977.
Samantha Cameron’s younger sister Emily Sheffield (pictured together) will take over from George Osborne as editor of the Evening Standard, it was announced today
The former Tory chancellor(right) stepped down after three years to become the editor-in-chief of the London free newspaper instead. Ms Sheffield (left) will take over
Ms Sheffield is married to actor Tom Mullion, who starred in the film Snow White And The Huntsman.
He is co-founder of Kitty Fisher’s, a tiny but extremely fashionable restaurant in Mayfair frequented by such names as Nigella Lawson and Homeland actor Damian Lewis.
During David Cameron’s election campaign, it was revealed that rebellious Ms Sheffield was expelled from private school Marlborough College after cannabis was found in her dormitory in a police raid.
Following her brother-in-law’s victory, Ms Sheffield never failed to share her own, often opposing, political views.
During David Cameron’s election campaign, it was revealed that rebellious Ms Sheffield (pictured) was expelled from private school Marlborough College after cannabis was found in her dormitory in a police raid
In 2018, she blasted Boris Johnson after he was snapped running through a field of wheat in what has been widely interpreted as a jibe at the expense of the Prime Minister Theresa May.
Ms Sheffield reacted with fury to now-Prime Minister’s stunt, sharing a picture of him in the field on Instagram with the caption: ‘Sorry but f*** you Boris and your consistently s****y brand of humour’.
Ms Sheffield is married to actor Tom Mullion (pictured together in 2018), who starred in the film Snow White And The Huntsman
Theresa May famously described running through fields of wheat as a child as the ‘naughtiest’ thing she’d ever done in an interview.
Ms Sheffield also took aim at Boris’ choice of running gear, branding him a ‘god damn sartorial disaster on top of everything else’.
In the wake of Mr Cameron’s Brexit defeat in 2016, Ms Sheffield posted a series of politically-charged tweets just hours after the vote came in.
She admitted that she had ‘only voted Tory for David’ and revealed that she had backed Labour in two previous elections.
‘How quickly can I join the Labour party?,’ she asked after the results were declared.
Adding: ‘I want to have a say so the right wing Tories are held at bay. I only voted Tory for David.’
She later posted: ‘Before that I voted Labour twice. The far right is not my home’.
The posts were followed by a string of tweets, including one that said: ‘Boris and Gove will not force this when country’s youth is against it, and Scotland… Make your voice heard, peacefully, firmly but loudly’.
When Mrs May took power after Brexit, Miss Sheffield spoke angrily about how she ‘deplored’ the ‘casual denigration’ of the achievements of Mr Cameron’s Government by the new regime.
She also delivered a stark warning to Mrs May in an article for The Spectator, writing: ‘They will come for you, I am afraid one day, Prime Minister, like they did for Thatcher, Blair and Brown.’
She also caused trouble in 2013 when she posted a picture on Instagram of her younger sister Alice on her wedding day, with Mr Cameron in the background taking an afternoon snooze on the bride’s bed with his red Cabinet box.
Mr Mullion (pictured with Ms Sheffield in 2016) is co-founder of Kitty Fisher’s, a tiny but extremely fashionable restaurant in Mayfair frequented by such names as Nigella Lawson and Homeland actor Damian Lewis
After the picture was liked by thousands of users, Emily called herself an ‘idiot’ on Twitter, admitting she did not intend it to be seen by so many people.
In February this year, Ms Sheffield spoke about her agony at suffering a miscarriage, describing how she ‘tumbled into grief’.
She said she was left ‘physically traumatised’ by her loss, which came soon after she was forced out of her job as deputy editor of British Vogue in 2017.
In the wake of Mr Cameron’s Brexit defeat in 2016, Ms Sheffield posted a series of politically-charged tweets just hours after the vote came in
Recalling the emotional turmoil of the time, she wrote in The Times magazine: ‘Without my usual work routine for balance and the Vogue girls for support, I tumble into a period of grief.
‘Plummeting pregnancy hormones don’t help, and leaving Vogue begins to feel like a very painful divorce.’
She eventually sought professional counselling, nine months after the traumatic events, and wrote: ‘I urge other women to do so far sooner.’
Ms Sheffield became pregnant at the age of 44, just before the ‘crushingly sad’ loss of her job at the glossy fashion magazine.
She wrote: ‘I’d been there 13 years. I spent more time with my Vogue team than with my family. When the managing director, Nicholas Coleridge, called me into his office and broke the news, I was furious with myself for crying.
In February this year, Ms Sheffield (pictured) spoke about her agony at suffering a miscarriage, describing how she ‘tumbled into grief’
‘I had become pregnant in those last months at Vogue, a shock given I was 44. I decide this is my consolation prize for losing out on the top job and leave feeling excited about the future.
‘In September, just as London Fashion Week begins, I miscarry a week short of my three-month scan. The miscarriage leaves me feeling physically traumatised.’
Ms Sheffield recently launched online media company ThisMuchIKnow following advice Mr Osborne gave her at a dinner at the Camerons’ home.
After losing her job as deputy-editor of Vogue, Mr Osborne advised her to ‘step back and seriously consider’ her next move.
In 2018, Ms Sheffield (pictured in 2018) blasted Boris Johnson after he was snapped running through a field of wheat in what has been widely interpreted as a jibe at the expense of the Prime Minister Theresa May
Ms Sheffield reacted with fury to now-Prime Minister’s stunt (pictured), sharing a picture of him in the field on Instagram with the caption: ‘Sorry but f*** you Boris and your consistently s****y brand of humour’
His advice led her to setting up the app – which relies on content from Instagram to provide ‘need-to-know stories, special reports, culture and news quizzes.’
In March this year, it was revealed that she received a £60,000 Government grant to set up the app.
The controversial grant came from the £2 million Future News Pilot Fund issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
It was set up following a review intended to help struggling local news publishers.
She was awarded the money after successfully navigating a bizarre interview process, part of which included placing marshmallows on a tower of spaghetti during a ‘group challenge’.
The grant to Ms Sheffield’s outfit caused anger among local newspaper groups – none of which has received any money from the pilot fund.
A total of 54 news organisations bid for a slice of the money during a two-day interview process run by Nesta, an ‘innovation foundation’, with 19 then receiving the handouts.
The winning applicants were decided through a mixture of presentations and ‘ice-breaking’ team activities such as the marshmallows game.
Ms Sheffield’s start-up, which relies on content from Instagram to provide ‘need-to-know stories, special reports, culture and news quizzes’, has also received money from the Guardian newspaper’s £42 million venture capital fund.