Public interest must rule

Newspapers are different from horseracing, hotels, football and many of the other commercial activities in which Britain’s friends in the Gulf are involved.

It is only right that abu Dhabi, which has very different values from the UK, is not considered a fit proprietor for the Daily Telegraph group.

Nor for that matter, should overseas state-backed funds be allowed to control other free market media outlets, whether on the right or Left. It wouldn’t happen in other western democracies.

A recent email was a reminder that broader issues are at stake.

The writer, an opponent of the proposed sizewell C nuclear project in suffolk, wanted to know why it is that abu Dhabi (and China at Hinkley in somerset) might be considered suitable financiers and partowners for such sensitive strategic assets.

remote and uncaring overseas owners are a feature of our commercial landscape. It may not seem important who owns the insurer Direct Line unless the potential buyer happens to have Chinese backing.

But it is critical that state players keep their hands off vital infrastructure. Ferrovial has not been a particularly good owner of Heathrow, but at least the spanish construction company is a free market player from a democratic stake.

Substituting saudi arabia, as proposed, for Ferrovial might seem ideal.

It has deep pockets and might even back a third runway. However, allowing a foreign government a big say over a strategic asset, with the potential for security breaches, does not make sense.

In 2006, when p&O ports was sold to Dubai ports world, the Us stepped in and ordered eastern seaboard ports, owned by the UK firm, to be carved out of the deal for security reasons. riyadh won’t want to be reminded that the 9/11 attacks were largely a renegade saudi operation.

National security concerns this week saw president Joe Biden intervene at the last moment to question Nippon steel’s £11.6bn deal to buy Us steel.

This is a considerable contrast with the UK where Tata from India and Jingye of China have been allowed to swallow the shrunken rump of British steelmaking.

The UK remains a magnet for foreign direct investment and needs the capital.

Newspapers are now off piste to overseas state players. They join aerospace and defence giants Bae systems and rollsroyce, where the Government holds a golden share to ward off predators.

Time for the net to be drawn more tightly around other strategic assets.

Undersold leader

SHARON white has been given a tough time over her stewardship at John Lewis.

There has been whingeing about a lack of retail know-how, complaints above overreach with plans for residential developments on sites of some stores and concerns that the much-admired partnership structure has been endangered.

John Lewis has lived through the trauma of the pandemic, supply-side bottlenecks and surging prices which challenged even the most experienced retailers.

Moreover, as chair, white inherited too many stores, some of them in the wrong places, and more debt than was sensible.

white, who is due to step down early in 2025, deserves much of the credit for a turn-around. profits have been restored, cash reserves bolstered and there is a promise of £540m of new investment including some waitrose openings.

partner bonuses remain off the agenda until the ship has been fully steadied.

The reputation of the John Lewis model is on the mend.

Shell retreat

WHEN this paper suggested last month that shell was cooling on less remunerative zero- carbon projects there was a riposte from headquarters on London’s south Bank.

We were assured that shell was spending $10bn to $15bn (£7.8bn to £11.8bn) on zero-carbon activities between 2023-25.

That’s terrific. But it is now revealed that chief executive wael sawan is scaling back its 2030 carbon reduction target and scrapped a 2035 objective as it focuses on higher margin projects.

Who would have thought?