MPs Demand Power to Block Foreign Takeover of UK Press Amid Telegraph Sale

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick prepares to speak to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London on Oct. 22, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA

More than 100 MPs have demanded veto power for Parliament to block foreign acquisitions of news media outlets as watchdogs are investigating the proposed UAE takeover of the Telegraph and Spectator.

MPs from five political parties signed a letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, calling on the government to back an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which will be debated in the House of Lords on Monday next week.

The amendment, proposed by a cross-party group of peers, requires parliamentary approval for any acquisition of a news publisher mainly operating in the UK by a foreign power cleared by competition and communications watchdogs. 

It comes as the watchdogs, Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), are looking into the proposed takeover of The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Spectator magazine.

The proposed sale is to RedBird IMI, which derives most of its funding from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, who is vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and owner of Manchester City FC.

It is understood that RedBird IMI is offering to help pay the £1.16 billion in debts that the current owners, the Barclay family, owe to Lloyds Bank.

Jeff Zucker, the former head of CNN who runs RedBird IMI, previously told The Telegraph that the paper’s editorial independence is guaranteed, but Ms. Frazer triggered a Public Interest Intervention Notice after 18 Tory backbenchers wrote to Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, claiming the sale was a “potential national security threat.”

Ofcom and CMA have until 9 a.m. on Monday to report to the culture secretary about the results of their investigations.

In a new letter to Ms. Frazer, former minister Robert Jenrick and over 100 signatories said it’s “dangerous” to let a foreign government control British media outlets.

“If major newspaper and media organisations can be purchased by foreign governments, the freedom of the press in the UK has the potential to be seriously undermined,” the letter said.

“No other democracy in the world has allowed a media outlet to be controlled by a foreign government. This is a dangerous Rubicon we should not cross.”

The letter was mostly signed by Conservative MPs. Other public signatories include independent MP Lee Anderson and a number of MPs from Labour, Green, the Liberal Democrat party, and the Democratic Unionist Party, according to a list published by The Telegraph.

Mr. Jenrick said he urges the government to accept the amendment, which was proposed by Baroness Stowell of Beeston, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, and Lord Forsyth of Drumlean.

“Our free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. We must do everything we can to protect it,” he said.

“Takeovers of news organisations by foreign governments should not only face the usual scrutiny by regulators and government, but also from elected representatives in Parliament as a final bulwark for press freedom.

“From my conversations, it is clear there is very wide cross-party support in the House of Commons for Baroness Stowell’s amendment. I urge the government to accept it, or have it forced upon them.”

If the amendment is adopted, Parliament will be able to veto a sale that’s cleared by CMA and Ofcom.

In the meantime, RedBird IMI and Telegraph Media Group have been banned from making any changes to key staff or the structure of the Telegraph Media Group.

In an email to The Epoch Times, a government spokesperson said, “The government will set out its position on amendments to the DMCC bill in due course.”

PA Media contributed to this report.