Two thirds of people believe that foreign governments should be banned from owning British newspapers, according to a poll, as ministers order a new investigation into an Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of The Telegraph.
A survey of more than 2,000 people found that 69 per cent think that overseas governments should be prevented by law from owning media outlets such as newspapers.
Among voters who backed the Conservatives at the last election, three quarters (75 per cent) said foreign governments should not be allowed to own UK newspapers.
According to the poll, which was carried out by the research agency Public First, 58 per cent of people said there should be a legal requirement for owners of British media outlets to be based in countries that have free elections and a free press.
The findings come after Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary ordered a further investigation into an attempted takeover of The Telegraph by RedBird IMI, a fund that is 75 per cent funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice president of the UAE.
She has given the media regulator Ofcom an extra six weeks to examine the plan. The media regulator now has until March 11 to complete both its original investigation and a second investigation that takes into account a new corporate structure that RedBird IMI put in place this week.
Ms Frazer said the change had created a new merger situation that demanded new scrutiny. Earlier this week she rebuked RedBird IMI for taking action at a late stage that was not “conducive to the full and proper functioning of the process”. Ofcom had been due to deliver its findings on Friday.
RedBird IMI derailed the regulator by creating an English limited partnership as an extra tier in the proposed chain of ownership. In such a structure, a limited partner must be passive. The move by RedBird IMI was an apparent attempt to reassure Ofcom that IMI, the Sheikh’s investment vehicle, would be unable to influence The Telegraph. It has a record of censorship and editorial interference at media companies.
Deal ‘could affect the free expression of opinion’
However, Ms Frazer said in a letter to RedBird IMI: “IMI remains the majority stakeholder… and is privately owned by a member of the UAE government. The Secretary of State therefore remains concerned about the potential influence of IMI over TMG which could affect the free expression of opinion and accurate presentation of news.
In December, RedBird IMI helped the Barclay family repay a £1.2 billion debt to Lloyds Banking Group, which seized control of The Telegraph in June and was preparing to sell it at auction. In exchange was handed an option to convert the borrowing to ownership, but was prevented from doing so by Ms Frazer’s first intervention.
RedBird IMI’s new English limited partnership sits above the company that owns the option, RB Investco. It was registered on July 13, little over a month after Lloyds’ action against the Barclay family, via a little-known corporate services provider. As it stands, it means that if RedBird IMI is successful, The Telegraph could be owned via an office above a Wetherspoons pub in Altrincham, Cheshire.
‘Strong argument to intervene’
Sir David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, who has called on Ms Frazer to block the takeover bid, said: “There are very strong arguments for the Secretary of State to intervene in this matter and this poll reinforces those arguments.”
He added: “It is fairly obvious that if a foreign state has control of a highly influential media organisation in the UK this has all sorts of democratic, constitutional and diplomatic implications, none of them good.”
The survey, carried out between Jan 16 and Jan 22, asked respondents which of a series of restrictions on the ownership of British media outlets they would support being set out in law.
More than two thirds (69 per cent) of people said that a ban on foreign governments owning British media outlets should be required by law, while 14 per cent disagreed and 16 per cent said they did not know either way.
Three quarters (76 per cent) of respondents agreed with the statement that “it does matter who owns British media outlets” compared to only 11 per cent who disagreed.
Asked to identify the most important benefits of independent media outlets and freedom of speech, 73 per cent of respondents said that “they can hold the Government and politicians to account”, 62 per cent agreed such outlets can “highlight the failures and crimes of the powerful” and 54 per cent said they can “provide important general news updates”.
Holding the powerful to account
James Frayne, the founding partner of Public First, said: “People moan about our media but they know it carries out a critical role holding the powerful to account.
“It is therefore the most basic common sense for people: you don’t sell off newspapers to businesses linked to foreign states, particularly those that aren’t liberal democracies. It is that simple.”
It came as Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, published the text of a letter sent to Ms Frazer by a cross-party group of MPs and peers saying they were “deeply concerned by the prospect of a foreign government assuming ownership of a paper of record”.
He and 27 other politicians from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and SNP say the Telegraph “has a strategic, fundamental role to play in the functioning of our democracy” and that ownership of the company by any foreign state, even France or the US, would be “a serious problem”.
The letter concludes: “The world is watching, and we should use all the powers at our disposal to ensure that we come up with the right answer.”
Ofcom declined to comment on whether evidence submitted to its original inquiry will remain valid or need to be resubmitted.
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We’ll consider the PIIN and determine next steps accordingly.”
Following the media regulator’s scrutiny, Ms Frazer must decide whether to accept undertakings from RedBird IMI to protect press freedom or refer the deal for an in-depth “phase 2” probe by the Competition and Markets Authority lasting up to 32 weeks.
A RedBird IMI spokesman said: “RedBird IMI remains committed to acquiring and investing in the Telegraph, and reiterates that maintaining the editorial independence of the newspaper is essential to protecting its reputation, credibility and value.
“To this end, we have committed to the Government that we will set up an editorial charter and trust at the Telegraph that will represent the most robust protections of editorial independence in the UK newspaper industry.
“In addition, IMI has given legal undertakings to the Government that it will play no part in the management and operations of the business, a position that is underpinned by its status as a solely passive investor in the RedBird IMI fund that is acquiring the Telegraph.”
Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, on Thursday intervened to protect Britain’s national security after the UAE acquired a nearly 15pc stake in Vodafone. On Friday he released an additional statement emphasising that the powers he used were “entirely country-agnostic”.
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2024-01-26 19:57:00Z
CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDI0LzAxLzI2L21vc3QtcGVvcGxlLXN1cHBvcnQtYmFuLWZvcmVpZ24tc3RhdGVzLW93bmluZy1icml0aXNoLW1lZGlhL9IBAA
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