The UK government is set to introduce legislation aimed at thwarting foreign government ownership of British newspapers, potentially derailing the proposed £600m purchase of the Telegraph by an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund.
Culture secretary Lord Parkinson said the government is committed to amending the current media merger regime to “explicitly rule out newspaper and periodical news magazine mergers involving ownership, influence or control by foreign states”.
Under these new measures, the secretary of state for culture would be obliged to refer any media merger cases to Britain’s competition watchdog using a new foreign state intervention notice.
If the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) determines that the merger would result in foreign control over a newspaper enterprise, the secretary of state must block it.
UAE-backed media investment fund RedBird IMI has been pursuing a bid for the Telegraph Media Group (TMG), which owns the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator magazine.
However, concerns have been raised by numerous Tory MPs and peers regarding the UAE’s track record on press freedom.
In response to mounting pressure, Lady Stowell proposed an amendment to the digital markets, competition and consumer bill, empowering Parliament to veto foreign government takeovers of British media organisations.
The amendment, supported by over 100 MPs and led by former minister Robert Jenrick, was debated in the House of Lords on Wednesday afternoon.
“This is not simply about the Daily Telegraph or the Spectator magazine,” said Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, “but what that case has done is to illustrate the vulnerability that we have in this modern world to the way in which foreign governments might seek to impose their views, their attitudes on the British public.”
Redbird IMI did not immediately respond to City A.M.‘s request for comment.