Cracknell departs Sunday Times

The Sunday Times political editor, David Cracknell, is leaving the paper to join lobby group FD-LLM.

Cracknell will become chairman of the UK public affairs practice, part of the Financial Dynamics PR firm, in the new year.

His decision to leave the Sunday Times follows the appointment of Marie Woolf, the former political editor of the Independent on Sunday, as the paper's associate editor (politics).

He joined the paper in 2001 from the Sunday Telegraph, having previously worked for the Business.

FD-LLM was formed in London in 1997 and now has a staff of 20 serving more than 40 clients.

The group operates in parliamentary and policy affairs as well as corporate affairs and media relations.

"The essence of the company is a new approach to public affairs; one which stems from the recognition that direct relations with those who make political and regulatory decisions is a necessary, but no longer sufficient, criteria for success," the group says on its website.

"Increasingly decisions are determined by the interplay of pressure, popularity and power between decision-makers and those who influence them in the media and amongst the public."

Chris Tryhorn
Guardian, Thursday November 1 2007