Media secretary Lucy Frazer has demanded fortnightly updates into the sale of The Telegraph so it can wrap up “as soon as possible”, despite the fact that Redbird IMI has said the government will have no role in the sale.
Earlier this week, Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund Redbird IMI formally withdrew its offer for the Telegraph Media Group and launched a sale of it.
Responsibility for the sale rests with Redbird IMI, which needs to sell the debt behind the group with the option of converting into ownership.
“There’s a huge amount of uncertainty for the Telegraph at the moment and has been for some time,” Frazer said. “If there is a significant matter that arises between those 14 days, I would like to be updated on it,” she told the Financial Times.
But a fact sheet on the sale last week, sent by Redbird IMI, posed the question: “What role will the government have in the sales process?”
Redbird IMI said: “None. The government has granted derogations to allow RedBird IMI to undertake a sales process. The transaction resulting from that will be subject to the usual regulatory process.”
Its purchase of the newspaper has been blocked by impending UK legislation, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which effectively bans foreign state ownership of UK newspapers.
The new law, which will not affect previous deals, has drawn some criticism that it could make future deals impossible.
But Frazer has defended the decision to block the sale of The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine to a foreign state. She said: “It’s really important to make clear that we are open for business.”
She said the situation is “totally different” from letting the Gulf kingdom invest in British culture. “This is a fundamental principle about freedom of our newspapers.”
“It’s really important we don’t impinge on democracy. In every other area — football [for example] — we’re not stopping foreign investment,” added Frazer, who is set to travel to Saudi Arabia soon to rally some business support for the UK’s cultural sector.
“A foreign state is likely to buy a newspaper, not as a commercial entity, but to ensure that it gets very full coverage in a particular country. It’s a pillar of democracy that you should be able to report without fear or favour.
“We don’t want to restrict all investment. What we are stopping is investing in a newspaper for the purpose of influencing the editorial,” she explained.
Redbird IMI chief and former CNN boss Jeff Zucker previously vowed to resign if the Telegraph faced any editorial influence from the UAE, arguing its value lies with its editorial freedom.