UK plans to ban foreign state ownership of British newspapers
livemint.comTelegraph Media Group. Stephen Parkinson, a media minister, announced in the upper-chamber House of Lords that the Conservative government would amend proposed legislation so that it "prevents foreign state ownership of newspapers". A government spokesperson added that the move would "deliver additional protections for a free press, a pillar of our democracy".
It follows pressure over the proposed takeover of the Daily Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine by a joint venture 75 percent owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments, struck a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) deal with TMG's owners, the Barclay family, in November. The agreement saw RedBird IMI pay off bank debts in exchange for control of the media group.
The announcement sparked an uproar in British media circles and the UK government quickly opened a formal probe into the sale on public-interest grounds. The takeover plans have also raised concerns among some lawmakers in the ruling Conservative party, which has long enjoyed a close ideological relationship with the right-leaning Telegraph titles. The Spectator -- once edited by former Tory prime minister and Brexit figurehead Boris Johnson -- is widely considered the "Tory bible".
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