Shadow cabinet comes out against Uae-telegraph bid

LABOUR has come out against a UAe-backed takeover of The Telegraph.

Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture secretary, told The Spectator that the view of the party “is that foreign governments should not own national newspapers.”

It comes as the Government is understood to be considering an overhaul of Britain’s media ownership laws to restrict foreign state influence.

Redbird IMI, a fund 75 per cent financed by the UAE, is trying to gain control of The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator.

The attempted takeover is stuck in limbo as the Culture Department waits for the media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to complete investigations.

Ofcom was scheduled to deliver its report to Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, yesterday. She would then be able to block the deal following further investigation by the CMA of its potential threat to press freedom.

Ms Debbonaire told The Spectator: “My view – and the view of the Labour party – is that foreign governments should not own national newspapers. This is a bid by a foreign power, funded by the deputy prime minister of the UAE, and as such this bid should not pass. Labour is unequivocal and unambiguous on this point: ownership by a foreign power is incompatible with press freedom, which is essential in a democracy.”

Meanwhile Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, told LBC: “I’ve expressed concerns in the past about foreign bids of strategically important British assets.

“Before selling these kinds of assets we should ask whether it’s in the longterm interests of the United Kingdom. And if the answer’s no, we shouldn’t be shy about standing up for ourselves and saying so.”