The move threatens to block the purchase of Daily Telegraph and The Spectator by Redbird-IMI, a US-Abu Dhabi joint venture, with 75 per cent stake owned by Sheikh Mansour, vice president of the United Arab Emirates.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to change the law to ban foreign states from owning, influencing or controlling British newspapers.
The move threatens to block the purchase of Daily Telegraph and The Spectator by Redbird-IMI, a US-Abu Dhabi joint venture, with 75 per cent stake owned by Sheikh Mansour, vice president of the United Arab Emirates.
The commitment to banning foreign state ownership of national newspapers and periodical news magazines is expected to come in an amendment to the third reading of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament.
Ministers are expected to bring forward an amendment to the legislation as soon as next Tuesday.
The proposed takeover of the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator– by Redbird-IMI, has prompted howls of protest from politicians, journalists and even a former spy chief that the deal risks press freedom.
Media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) both submitted reports to the government this week on the proposed takeover, leaving media secretary Lucy Frazer to decide whether the purchase should go ahead.
The government, which for years has had an open approach to foreign takeovers, intervened in the deal in November, ordering an investigation to assess its impact on freedom of expression and accuracy.
While Frazer already has the power to block such a deal or order a longer investigation, it is understood that the proposed new legislation would in effect impose a duty on ministers to block any deal deemed by the CMA to amount to foreign ownership or influence.
More than 100 politicians wrote to Frazer ahead of the deadline for the regulators’ reports into the proposed takeover of the Telegraph, warning that, “if major newspaper and media organisations can be purchased by foreign governments, the freedom of the press in the UK has the potential to be seriously undermined”.
“This is a dangerous Rubicon we should not cross,” they added, urging the culture Secretary to block the deal.
Sheikh Mansour heads some UAE sovereign wealth funds which hold British assets and owns Premier League football club Manchester City.
RedBird IMI, which plans to take control of the titles through a new English-registered company, has given repeated reassurances that it is “entirely committed to maintaining the existing editorial team” and that their editorial independence is “essential to protecting their reputation and credibility”.