Surprising rumours in the Digital World broke today – that Lord Carter is set to step down from Government on the eve of his upcoming Digital Britain Report.

The Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting is currently preparing the eagerly anticipated next big Digital Britain Report, (which shapes the Government approach to digital media distribution) at a time where much is changing in the digital landscape. So now the report which looks at Government policy on public service broadcasting, local media ownership rules and digital radio switchover, and more – had been left in the balance at a crucial time.

His departure was neither confirmed or denied by the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform or the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – to whom he is accountable, which further added speculation that he could in fact be going for the position of ITV chief executive (having been unsuccessful with the ITV role three years ago).

As the Times reported today, Lord Carter is due to return to the private sector. Lord Carter himself did not deny the claims either, telling The Times: "I'm beavering away feverishly on my report, that's my only preoccupation".

So what does this mean for the communications industry? Considering the Report determines the development of UK digital media, it therefore seems compromising that Lord Carter might move to a media company (which is having to focus strongly on its own digital direction in order to survive).

Will this move by Carter – so close to the release date of the report - jeopardise the credibility of the report (and Carter himself), and leave some feeling the report might now be biased toward the interests of the media companies, over the individual?

Another area of controversy is the fact that Lord Carter now has knowledge of commercially sensitive information on the BBC and Channel 4 – direct competition of ITV. So what will next week’s report bring and will be Lord Carter still be there? Wait and see…..