Labour considers backing amendment to block UAE’s Telegraph takeover

Keir Starmer will meet with shadow culture secretary to discuss the issue ahead of first debate in the Lords next week

Labour will meet on Wednesday to consider whether to back a parliamentary amendment which would create new powers to prevent the UAE-backed takeover of The Telegraph.
It comes after more than 100 MPs signed a letter calling on Rishi Sunak to back the amendment, which would give the Lords and Commons a veto over the sale of a newspaper to a foreign government.
Sir Keir Starmer and Thangam Debbonaire, his shadow culture secretary, have yet to decide whether to support the move, but it is understood a meeting is taking place on Wednesday on the issue ahead of the first debate on the amendment in the Lords on March 11.
The letter to Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, backed powers for Parliament to block the proposed Abu Dhabi takeover of The Telegraph, branding it a “dangerous Rubicon” that must not be crossed.
Led by Robert Jenrick, the former Cabinet minister, the letter was signed by MPs from all parties including four from Labour, from the Greens’ Caroline Lucas to Lee Anderson, the former Tory MP who is now sitting as an independent.
This morning Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 4: “It’s very rare that you get those two individuals to sign the same letter, you’re absolutely right.
“But joking aside, that does show that this is a matter that concerns all of us in Parliament or a great deal of us, people of all political parties, people who care passionately about The Daily Telegraph as a newspaper.
“And those who perhaps don’t, but care about the principle that is at stake, and if this were to proceed, what might happen in the future with countries taking an interest in our media that are wholly different to the UAE.
“The UAE is a country with which we have very good relations. It isn’t a liberal democracy, but it is a country that is a partner and ally of the United Kingdom. There are other countries out there who might follow suit if we enable this to happen so I think we should exercise great care before doing so.”
Mr Jenrick tweeted a copy of the letter, which has this morning been sent to Ms Frazer, saying: 
The free press is a cornerstone of our democracy.My letter to the Culture Secretary, co-signed by MPs from 5 parties, urging the government to provide parliament with a vote on media takeovers by foreign powers. It would serve as a crucial bulwark for press freedom in the UK. pic.twitter.com/u6XeXLwhqQ
The letter was signed by a string of former Cabinet ministers including Sir John Redwood, Therese Coffey, Sir Simon Clarke, Robert Buckland, Stephen Crabb, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers and Sir Geoffrey Cox.
It said: “If major newspaper and media organisations can be purchased by foreign governments, the freedom of the press has the potential to be seriously undermined.
“No other democracy in the world has allowed a media outlet to be controlled by a foreign government. This is a dangerous Rubicon we should not cross.”
Most of the signatories are Conservatives. Four Labour MPs including Liam Byrne and Sarah Champion have signed, along with seven Liberal Democrats.
The group signalled support for an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill tabled by Tory peer Baroness Stowell that would create the new powers for Parliament.
The Bill comes before the Lords next week and if the amendment passes there it will be heard by MPs in the Commons later.
The proposed takeover of The Telegraph is currently in limbo pending investigations by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
RedBird IMI, a fund 75 per cent backed by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, has positioned itself to take control of The Telegraph in a complex £1.2 billion debt deal with the Barclay family, which values the company at £600 million.
It has pledged to protect editorial independence with legally binding undertakings that the UAE will be a passive investor only and that management of The Telegraph will be the sole responsibility of RedBird, the US private equity firm providing a quarter of the purchase price.
The Barclay family remain owners of The Telegraph but are barred by law from exercising any control. Ofcom is scheduled to deliver its report to Ms Frazer by March 11. She would then be able to block the deal following further investigation by the CMA of its potential threat to press freedom.
In a submission to Ofcom seen by The Telegraph, the Middle East expert Brian Dooley warned that fundamental human rights standards were being “flagrantly transgressed” in the UAE, including “regular, arbitrary detention” as well as examples of unlawful surveillance and torture.