UAE Telegraph sale: Ministers may step in

MINISTERS could back new laws that would give Parliament a veto over the proposed UAE-backed takeover of The Daily Telegraph.

Government officials have contacted Tory peer Baroness Stowell within the past 48 hours about potentially backing an amendment she has tabled. It would allow the sale of UK publications to foreign states to be blocked.

More than 100 MPs have already pledged to back the amendment to the

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. But the Government may also throw its weight behind it if officials are satisfied the wording is watertight.

A decision will be made in the coming days. ‘It would have to do what it says on the tin,’ a Government source said.

With government backing, this would boost the chances of it becoming law and would effectively take takeover decisions out of the hands of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Investigations into the takeover by watchdogs Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority are set to conclude on Monday. They were ordered by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer due to concerns over ‘accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion in newspapers’. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, published in yesterday’s Telegraph, Baroness Stowell wrote: ‘Allowing foreign governments to own such a critical and sensitive part of our nation would damage public confidence’.

RedBird IMI, a fund 75 per cent backed by the UAE’s vice-president, has positioned itself to take control of the Telegraph in a complex £1.2billion debt deal.