Peers to vote on media

Members of the House of Lords are due to vote today on an amendment which would effectively give Parliament a veto on sales of UK media groups to foreign powers.

The amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, tabled by Baroness Tina Stowell, the Conservative chair of the Communications and Digital Committee and a former cabinet minister, has the support of more than 100 MPs.

It is understood that the Government is considering whether to table its own amendment to supersede Lady Stowell’s, particularly in the wake of the Labour Party’s decision to come out against the proposed UAE-backed takeover of The Daily Telegraph (inset).

The shadow Culture Secretary, Thangam Debbonaire, said earlier this week: “Ownership by a foreign power is incompatible with press freedom.”

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said yesterday that the Government “recognised the strength of feeling towards Lady Stowell’s amendment to allow Parliament to veto the takeover”. They added: “We’re in discussions with her. To be clear, the process is a parliamentary one and is completely separate to the internal government process.”

The Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer, is considering reports from the regulator Ofcom and competition authorities to assess whether the potential new owners can guarantee accurate reporting of the news and editorial freedom.

RedBird IMI has pledged to maintain editorial freedoms.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that both Rupert Murdoch’s News UK and DMGT were examining their options. is owned by Harmsworth Media, a publishing division of DMGT, and has complete editorial independence.