Lord Hague Comes Out against ‘Disturbing’ UAE Attempt to Buy The Telegraph

THE TELEGRAPH: Former Tory leader stresses that allowing effective foreign state ownership of a major newspaper is ‘going too far‘

The former foreign secretary called on Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, to intervene by triggering a regulatory investigation | CREDIT: Joe Newman
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.

Tory Concern Grows over Potential Sale of Telegraph Titles to Abu Dhabi

THE OBSERVER: Former Telegraph editor Charles Moore among those to condemn bid for the Conservative party’s paper of choice

The Daily Telegraph, along with the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator, has been targeted by Abu Dhabi’s royal family. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian
Tory MPs are used to poring over the pages of the Telegraph titles for evidence of whose political fortunes are up or down in the party’s papers of choice. Now, however, senior Conservatives are more worried about the increasingly fraught battle for the publications’ ownership than with what appears on their pages.

There is growing backbench unease over an Abu Dhabi-backed bid that appears to be the leading contender to seize the newspapers and the weekly Spectator.

And this weekend the grand figure of Lord (Charles) Moore entered the fray. In an urgent plea issued on the radio and in an opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph itself, Moore, who has edited all three of the British titles now on sale, argued that a media purchase of such significance by a Gulf state would be dangerous.

“The Telegraph and the Spectator are great British institutions. They should not be controlled by a foreign power,” he wrote. Moore added that the deal would in effect give control to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, which is very different from the simple sale of a commercial asset to an individual owner.

…

But in the run-up to Thursday’s Cop28 climate change summit in Dubai – like Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Rishi Sunak’s government clearly sees greater financial links with the UAE as an aim, rather than a risk. So tomorrow the prime minister is to host financiers from Abu Dhabi for a global investment summit at Hampton Court Palace. » | Vanessa Thorpe and Michael Savage | Sunday, November 26, 2023

If this sale goes ahead, it will be a case of TWATS AT THE TOP! Only a fool would sell off our media to the anyone in the Islamic world! If this sale goes ahead, the Islamisation of the United Kingdom will be turbo-charged! Are these people who are contemplating this ridiulous and dangerous sale right in the head? One of the first ways of gaining control of the narrative of a nation is by gaining control of its media. This is elementary. Doesn't Rishi Sunak understand this basic fact? Is the acceleration of the Islamisation of the UK going to be Sunak's legacy? The man is a fool! He worries about and wants to put a stop to young people being able to buy a fag, but he doesn't care about the country he is supposed to love so much being Islamised!

If this sale goes ahead, this country will have reached the point of no return. As a nation, we will have crossed the Rubicon! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THIS SALE GO AHEAD. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the buyer and that will be the beginning of the end of press freedom in this country. The beginning of the end of press freedom and the beginnning of the Islamisation of this country in earnest. Gay rights will become a thing of the past. Muhammad will become this nation's prophet and Jesus will be relegated to prophethood. Allah will become our god. Sunak is already determined to take people's right to smoke away. If this sale goes ahead, people's right to drink alcohol and eat pork will be next on the list to be taken away!

This country, post-Brexit, has taken leave of its senses! It is losing its mind! Jesus Christ Almighty! Help! – © Mark Alexander

It Would Be Unforgivable to Allow Abu Dhabi to Nationalise the Telegraph and Spectator

THE TELEGRAPH: Rishi Sunak might fear upsetting Arab friends, but these are great British institutions whose future is now in doubt

joined this newspaper in 1979 and have subsequently edited all the three titles in its stable – The Spectator, The Sunday Telegraph and The Daily Telegraph. I remain on the staff. I have therefore reached that stage in life when kind younger people, trying to make conversation, say, “You must have seen a few changes, then!”

I have. They include the defeat of the print unions in the 1980s, the consequent new technology and business success, the rise of the internet and the conquest of print by digital. This has involved frequent meetings with triumph and disaster of the sort Kipling recognised in his famous poem.

As the editor at most of these junctures, I have also seen changes of ownership. I am familiar with the process by which one commanding and successful owner gets into difficulties and finds that he (it has always been men) must cede control to another.

This has happened with the ownership of the Telegraph Group by the Barclay family. From the editorial point of view, they were good proprietors, in that they did not tell their editors what to write.

They also did not tell their editors, however, that they had put up their titles as collateral against big debts. This summer, in a controversial move, Lloyds Bank, angry that the Barclays’ debt to them was not being repaid, put the papers (which are profitable) into receivership. That was a change I had not seen before. » | Charles Moore | Friday, November 24, 2023

This is an excellent article. I agree with Charles Moore’s sentiments absolutely.

It is an outrage that these newspapers and publications could be sold to the UAE. First of all, is every damn thing in the UK now for sale to the highest bidder? Is nothing sacred? Can’t we Brits keep anything British anymore?

Secondly, and every bit as important: selling our press to the Islamic world is a sure fire way of getting rid of press freedom. It is also a fast track to the Islamisation of the UK.

To use Margaret Thatcher’s famous words: No! No! No! – © Mark Alexander

A related article here with a further comment from me.

The Telegraph, the Autocracy and Free Speech: Can RedBird IMI Calm Media Fears?

THE GUARDIAN: One of the investors bidding for the paper is the vice-president of the UAE, which is ranked far down the press freedom index

The Daily Telegraph is more than 100 years older than the United Arab Emirates. Photograph: Luke MacGregor/Reuters
The United Arab Emirates has a mixed record on free speech. Detention of journalists is not uncommon and the nation ranked 145th out of 180 countries included in a press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

Now a member of the ruling elite has set his sights on a UK newspaper whose roots can be traced back more than 100 years before the official creation of the Gulf state.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s vice-president, best known in the UK for his ownership of Manchester City football club, has thrown his considerable financial heft behind RedBird IMI, an investment consortium looking to take control of the Telegraph and its stablemate, the Spectator magazine. » | Rob Davies | Friday, November 24, 2023

The prostitution and submission of the effete West to Islam and its ever-tightening grip on European nations will become increasingly felt if and when our press is sold off to über-rich potentates, to men who are in thrall to the power and influence of their version of the Almighty, to men who believe the final Messenger of God is Muhammad – a man whose apostleship has always been denied by the Christian West.

When a nation is no longer in control of its media and is sold off to Islamic powers, it won’t be long before press freedom will become a distant memory.

If this sale goes ahead, the acid test of press freedom will be criticism of Islam itself or of its prophet. – © Mark Alexander

United Arab Emirates I ARTE.tv Documentary

Dec 17, 2021 • The United Arab Emirates includes the sci-fi like cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai with their breath taking towers and impressive beach resorts. It is also a land of expats with residents from over two hundred different nations. | Available until the 23/06/2023

UAE Cuts Working Week and Shifts Weekend Back a Day

THE GUARDIAN: ‘National working week’ aimed at improving work-life balance and economic competitiveness

Construction workers in Dubai. Moving to a Saturday-Sunday weekend will bring the UAE into line with most of the non-Arab world. Photograph: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images
The United Arab Emirates is cutting its working week to four-and-a-half days and moving its weekend from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday in a major shift aimed at improving the country’s competitiveness, officials have said.

The “national working week” will be mandatory for government bodies from 1 January and bucks the regional norm of a full day-off on Friday for Muslim prayers.

While becoming the only Gulf state not to have a Friday-Saturday weekend, the move will bring the resource-rich and ambitious UAE into line with the non-Arab world.

Under the new timetable, the public sector weekend starts at noon on Fridays and ends on Sunday. Friday prayers at mosques will be held after 1.15pm all year round. » | Agence France-Presse in Dubai | Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Pope Francis Holds Arabian Peninsula's Largest Mass | DW News

It was billed as the largest show of Christian worship ever seen on the Arabian Peninsula. Pope Francis celebrated mass in the Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates. More than 130,000 people attended the event in the capital Abu Dhabi. The mass wrapped up a three day trip to the country, the first ever by a pontiff. Pope Francis condemned war and said his main aim was to promote harmony and tolerance between Christians and Muslims.

Pope Francis Pays Historic Visit to the United Arab Emirates | DW News

Pope Francis has paid the first ever papal visit to the United Arab Emirates. During his two day visit, the pope is due to meet leading Muslim clerics and hold an open air mass in the Muslim-majority kingdom. The historic papal trip is aimed at turning a page in Christian-Muslim relations in the region.

What Are the Limits of Foreign Lobbying in the UK? | Inside Story

The British media watchdog Spinwatch says the UAE spent millions of dollars to influence political decision-making. And the watchdog says the Emiratis pressured journalists and think tanks - all aimed at influencing the British government against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Spinwatch says it has leaked emails showing how the Emiratis were involved in what's described as 'clandestine' lobbying tactics in both Britain and the US; and it highlights the UAE's campaign against Qatar and the 2022 World Cup.

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar 13 months ago - and imposed an economic blockade.

What's the impact of lobbying on decision making by the British government? And does it affect democracy?

Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests: David Miller - Founder, Spinwatch; Afzal Ashraf - Visiting Fellow, Nottingham University; Kevin Craig, Chief Executive, Political Lobbying and Media Relations

Inside Story: Crossing the Gulf's Red Lines?
As dissenting voices are silenced in the region, we ask if this is suppression of speech or the legitimate use of law.

Saudis, Emiratis Were Funding Extremists
US cable says Gulf countries fund Pakistani militancy - Pakistan newspaper

Emirati Wife Suing Husband for £7 million for Failing to Fulfil Her Needs
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Emirati man is being sued for £7.25 million for failing to have sex with his wife and causing her mental anguish, according to reports.

The unidentified woman told the court that her Emirati husband did not sleep with her in the first four months of their marriage in 2008 and later she discovered that he suffered from erectile dysfunction, according to Gulf News.

The newspaper quoted court records as saying that the woman alleged her husband failed to fulfil her needs. The case is pending before Dubai Courts. » | Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Emirate Power Struggle Threatens Stability in Wake of Monarch's Death
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Gulf emirate whose stability is vital to Western interests has been plunged into a political crisis following the death of one of the world's longest-serving monarchs.

Sheikh Khalid al-Qasimi (left) and Sheikh Saud (right), who deposed him as Crown Prince and de facto ruler in 2003. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Ras al-Khaimah is a strategic western ally that sits on the Straits of Hormuz, the world's most important seaway, and is just 60 miles across the water from Iran. Sheikh Khalid al-Qasimi, the elder son of the late ruler, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, was on Wednesday night holed up in his palace, claiming to be the rightful successor, while troops were marshalled outside to enforce the claim of his younger brother, the Crown Prince Sheikh Saud.

Sheikh Khalid accuses Sheikh Saud, who deposed him as Crown Prince and de facto ruler in 2003, of allowing the emirate to be used as a route to smuggle banned goods, including nuclear technology, into Iran, and is appealing to his family to put him in charge.

But the federal authorities of the United Arab Emirates, of which Ras al-Khaimah is part, immediately pledged their "full support" to Sheikh Saud yesterday morning. Within hours, Sheikh Khalid's palace was surrounded by military vehicles.

Were it not for its closeness to Iran, the long struggle for power between the two brothers would seem like something from the writings of Lawrence of Arabia rather than a means of organising government in a fast-modernising nation. But 20 per cent of the world's oil supplies pass through the Straits of Hormuz and the monarch's death comes as Iran is stepping up its influence across the Middle East. >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai | Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Queen Accepts Helping Hand from Emir of Qatar
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Queen accepted a helping hand from the Emir of Qatar after welcoming him to Windsor Castle at the start of a three-day state visit intended to cement Britain’s trade links with the Gulf state.

After watching a march past of Household Cavalry and Royal Horse Artillery soldiers, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani guided the Queen down a short flight of steps from a dais.

The Emir, who flew to London with his consort, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, one of his three wives, will also meet David Cameron in Downing Street as part of the Government’s drive to strengthen trade with Qatar and other Gulf emirates.

Qatar, a British protectorate until 1971, is a key energy supplier to the UK, and is eventually expected to provide up to one fifth of the country’s gas supply in the form of liquefied natural gas, which is shipped to a terminal in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

It is also a major investor in the UK, with high-profile assets including the Harrods department store in London, which the Qatari Royal family bought in May for £1.5billion. >>> Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Emirati Court Clears Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahayan of Torture
TIMES ONLINE: An Emirati court on Sunday today cleared the president’s brother of charges of torturing an Afghan despite video footage of the incident.

The court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) acquitted Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahayan "after establishing he was not responsible" for the torture of the Afghan merchant in 2004, lawyer Habib al-Mulla said.

Five co-defendants, including two Americans, were found guilty, his lawyer said.

“The court accepted our defence that the sheikh was under the influence of drugs (medicine) that left him unaware of his actions,” he said.

Allegations against the sheikh emerged after US network ABC aired the video in April that appears to show him beating a man with whips, electric cattle prods and a wooden plank with protruding nails.

Assisted by others, Sheikh Issa is seen to pour salt in the man’s wounds and run over him with a sports utility vehicle.

The victim needed months of hospital care following the incident. He was reportedly an Afghan trader who lost a consignment of grain worth $5,000.

The lawyer told the court that one of the sheikh’s co-defendants was responsible for Sheikh Issa’s medications and had drugged him, then videotaped the incident and tried to blackmail him.

The court in the oasis city of Al-Ain ordered two co-defendants to pay a interim compensation of 10,000 dirhams ($2,724) to the victim, who can file a new lawsuit to claim full compensation.

The two US defendants of Lebanese origin, brothers Ghassan and Bassam Nabulsi, were sentenced to five years in jail each in absentia for having drugged the sheikh. >>> Times Online | Sunday, January 10, 2010

Calipers On The Genitals - Princely Style


Related:

UAE Detains ‘Torture Tape’ Sheikh >>> | Monday, May 18, 2009

Dubai Tries to Stem Panic as Financial Crisis Shakes Investors Around World
THE GUARDIAN: FTSE 100 opens down 70 points before regaining ground / Japan's Nikkei closes down 3.2%; Hang Seng falls 5.3%

The Dubai financial crisis continued to send shares and commodities falling around the world this morning, despite efforts by the emirate's ruling family to calm the panic.

In London, the FTSE 100 tumbled by 70 points, or nearly 1.4%, to 5123 when trading began – but by 9.15am had erased nearly all of its losses. HSBC and Barclays were among the biggest fallers, along with mining companies.

There was also a bout of heavy selling in Asia. The Nikkei 225 closed 3.2% lower, with Japan's biggest banks leading the fallers. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 5.3%.

Major building firms in Asia also fell sharply, as traders anticipated that the Dubai building boom was over.

Predictions that Dubai could drag the world economy downwards again knocked $5.50 off the price of a barrel of oil, to $72.49.

Yesterday the FTSE 100 suffered its worst day's trading since March, falling by 170 points. This followed the news that Dubai World – the government-owned conglomerate that has led the dramatic growth in the Emirate – has asked to defer repaying some debts for six months.

It is still unclear whether Dubai World will default on its $80bn debts, which would be a major blow to the banking sector, or be bailed out by the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, the uncle of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, attempted to calm the situation last night. >>> Graeme Wearden | Friday, November 27, 2009

UAE - Dubai: The Desert Kingdom
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

British Engineer's Daughter Jailed in United Arab Emirates for Having Sex with Her Boss
Jailed: Roxanne Hillier was arrested in the dive shop where she worked after police broke down the door. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: The daughter of a British engineer has been jailed in the United Arab Emirates after being accused of sleeping with her boss.

Roxanne Hillier is serving a three-month sentence following her arrest at a dive shop where she worked in Sharjah.

The 22-year-old was asleep in a room above the store when police broke down the door and arrested her.

It was claimed she was having an affair with the shop owner, an Emirati, who was downstairs at the time.

Miss Hillier was also accused of being alone in the same room with him.

Although the 22-year-old endured 'humiliating' medical tests to prove no sexual contact had taken place, she was convicted over the alleged affair last week.

The dive shop boss received a six-month sentence even though he also denied the relationship.

Miss Hillier's case is the latest in a string to highlight the United Arab Emirates strict laws on sexual relationships. >>> | Wednesday, June 10, 2009

'This Is Like Being in a Filthy Labour Camp,' Says Adultery Mother Locked in Dubai Jail Hell
British mother Sally Antia, who is being held in a Dubai jail, claims she is given food riddled with maggots. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A British mother being held in a Dubai prison for adultery has revealed the appalling conditions she is enduring while awaiting her fate.

Sally Antia claims she is being fed food riddled with maggots and shares a toilet and poorly functioning shower with 100 other women.

Conditions are so crowded that she - like every other woman in the underground jail - sleeps toe-to-head with another woman in her single bunk bed.

She regularly washes in water from a bucket.

Mrs Antia and her boyfriend Mark Hawkins, 43, were both arrested in the early hours of May 2 as they walked out of one of Dubai's five-star hotels.

Their arrest followed a complaint by Mrs Antia's estranged husband Vincent made to police that his wife was committing adultery - a crime in the ultra-strict United Arab Emirates. >>> By Dan Newling | Thursday, May 28, 2009

Bush Tries to Rally Gulf ‘Allies’ Against Iran
THE SUNDAY TIMES: President Bush urged America's Gulf allies to back his campaign against Iran today, saying that the safety of the world was at stake.

Speaking in a lavish, gold-encrusted hotel in Abu Dhabi, Mr Bush used the signature speech of his tour of the Middle East to denounce Tehran as the "world's leading sponsor of state terror".

His stern message came amid simmering tensions over last week's face-off between Iranian and US naval vessels in the nearby Strait of Hormuz, the most strategic oil-trading route in the region.

"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Mr Bush said. "So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it's too late," he said.

But it was unclear how the United Arab Emirates – a staunch ally of the United States – would react to Mr. Bush's request that it play a bigger role in regional security.

Leaders of this oil-rich Gulf State are increasingly wary of Iran's growing influence and see their stability as intimately linked to the US.

However, the UAE's booming economy is closely tied to Iran, its biggest trading partner. Nearly half a million Iranians live in the Emirates, with about 10,000 Iranian firms operating in its commercial capital of Dubai.

When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, visited last year, he was greeted with warm embraces from local rulers. George Bush tries to rally Gulf allies against Iran >>> By Sonia Verma in Abu Dhabi

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