One hundred MPS support Bill to block Uae-telegraph deal
MORE than 100 MPS have backed powers for Parliament to block the proposed UAE takeover of The Telegraph, branding the deal a “dangerous Rubicon” that must not be crossed.
Led by Robert Jenrick, the former housing secretary, the cross-party group of MPS called on Rishi Sunak to support an amendment in the Lords that would give MPS and peers a veto on ownership of UK news media by a foreign state.
The letter to Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, said: “If major newspaper and media organisations can be purchased by foreign governments, the freedom of the press has the potential to be seriously undermined. 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 signed by former Cabinet ministers including Chris Grayling, Sir John Redwood, Thérèse Coffey, Sir Simon Clarke, Robert Buckland, Stephen Crabb, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers and Sir Geoffrey Cox.
One hundred MPS have signed the letter publicly, along with a number of others who have signed it privately. Most of the signatories are Conservatives. Four Labour MPS, including Liam Byrne and Sarah Champion, have signed, along with a number of Liberal Democrats. The group signalled support for an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill tabled by Baroness Stowell, the Tory peer, that would create new powers for Parliament. The Bill will appear before the Lords next week and, if the amendment passes there, it will be heard by MPS in the Commons later.
Labour is expected to debate its position on Lady Stowell’s bill today.
Mr Jenrick said: “Our free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. We must do everything we can to protect it.
“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.”
The proposed takeover of The Telegraph is currently in limbo pending investigations by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Redbird IMI, a fund 75 per cent backed by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-nahyan, the vice-president of the UAE, has positioned itself to take control of The Telegraph in a complex £1.2billion debt deal. It has pledged to protect editorial independence with legally binding undertakings that the UAE would be a passive investor only.
Ofcom is scheduled to deliver its report to Ms Frazer by Monday. She would then be able to block the deal following further investigation by the CMA.
In a submission to Ofcom seen by The Telegraph, Brian Dooley, a Middle East expert, warned that fundamental human rights standards were being “flagrantly transgressed”.
His report, funded by friends of a group of activists who were arrested and placed on mass trial in the UAE last year, said: “These particularly relevant considerations should dissuade the UK Government from allowing this proposed takeover to proceed.”