Lord Hague has described The Telegraph’s proposed takeover by Abu Dhabi as “disturbing” and one that “should be prevented”.
The former foreign secretary called on Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, to intervene by triggering a regulatory investigation in the public interest.
Writing in The Times, Lord Hague stressed that while there was “more to admire” about the United Arab Emirates (UAE) “than to fear”, allowing effective foreign state ownership of a major newspaper was “going too far”.
Lloyds Banking Group, which took control of The Telegraph and The Spectator in June from the Barclay family, is pursuing a £1.2 billion deal to hand over control of the titles to RedBirdIMI, a fund backed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE vice-president.
The proposed transaction has fuelled concerns over press freedom, given the UAE’s authoritarian leadership and track record of media censorship. Most senior Tory to come out against UAE deal » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter | Monday, November 27, 2023
Related articles and comments written by me here and here.
