Robert Winnett won’t become editor of the Washington Post

The veteran journalist, initially set to join the Post after US presidential election, decides to remain at the Telegraph.

The Washington Post will launch a formal search for a new editor. Picture: Getty Images

Telegraph deputy editor Robert Winnett will no longer join the Washington Post as its top editor, a reversal that comes amid growing scrutiny of tactics he used as a journalist in Britain.

“I’m pleased to report that Rob Winnett has decided to stay with us,” Telegraph editor Chris Evans said in a statement to staff.

“As you all know, he’s a talented chap and their loss is our gain.”

Winnett declined to comment through a spokeswoman for the Daily Telegraph.

Washington Post chief executive William Lewis confirmed the change in a note to staff and said the Post would hire a recruiting firm and launch a “timely but thorough” search for a new editor.

“It is with regret that I share with you that Robert Winnett has withdrawn from the position of Editor at The Washington Post,” Lewis wrote.

“Rob has my greatest respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist.”

Winnett had been appointed in the role by Lewis earlier this month, an announcement that came amid the abrupt departure of executive editor Sally Buzbee.

Matt Murray, a former editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, replaced Buzbee in the executive-editor role on an interim basis and was supposed to be succeeded by Winnett after the presidential election in November.

At that point, the plan was for Murray to take control of a “third newsroom” focused on service and social-media journalism. (The “second” newsroom is Opinions under that plan.)

Shortly after the news of Winnett’s appointment, the New York Times and Washington Post published articles about Winnett and Lewis’s past work as British journalists.

A Post article on Sunday detailed ties between Winnett and John Ford, an individual who used deceptive means to obtain information and who had been hired by the Sunday Times to assist with articles.

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that Winnett and Lewis had used fraudulently obtained phone and company records in news articles during their careers in Britain.

Neither Winnett nor Lewis had any comment in the New York Times or Washington Post articles. The Sunday Times and the Journal are both owned by News Corp, publisher of The Australian.

Even before the New York Times and Washington Post articles came out, Winnett’s appointment had put Lewis on a difficult footing. In a town hall meeting with the newsroom the day after the announcement of Buzbee’s departure, Lewis was asked about his vision for the publication and his commitment to diversity after appointing two white men in senior roles.

The exchange grew testy at times, including a moment when Lewis said urgent changes were needed because the publication is dealing with financial losses and declining audiences.

Lewis later sought to mend fences with the newsroom, vowing in a June 7 memo to be a better listener and communicator.

Lewis is also dealing with questions about his role in a UK hacking scandal that played out more than a decade ago and his reported attempts to quash articles about that case. He has denied the characterisation of a New York Times report saying he had pressured Buzbee to quash a Post article about the hacking scandal that cast him in a negative light. (The Times has said it stands by its reporting.)

The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, has privately reaffirmed his support for Lewis, the Journal previously reported. On Tuesday, Bezos sent a note to Post leaders committing to maintain the news organisation’s “journalistic standards and ethics” and emphasising the importance of developing the Post’s business.

“The world is evolving rapidly, and we do need to change as a business,” Bezos wrote.