British journalist. In December 2007, Harding was appointed editor of The Times, at 37 the youngest person to assume the post, which he held until 2012. A year later, he became Director of BBC News. Harding told the Inquiry that he feared the judge's investigation into press ethics would lead to an Act of Parliament that would stifle the press. "We don't want a country ... where the Prime Minister decides what goes in newspapers," he said.