MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK will ban foreign states from owing UK newspapers and news magazines

The action follows on the proposed takeover of the Daily Telegraph and Spectator by a United Arab Emirates-backed investment firm, RedBird IMI.

The British government will ban foreign states from owning UK newspapers and news magazines, the government has said. The action follows on the proposed takeover of the Daily Telegraph and Spectator by a United Arab Emirates-backed investment firm, RedBird IMI.

The government said the proposed legislation would “deliver additional protections for a free press”. But a spokesperson for the UAE-funded group said they were “extremely disappointed by today's development”.

Opposition Labour has indicated it will back the change, which will be in an amendment to a new law being debated next week.

There had been growing cross-party pressure on the government to act and it was facing a possible defeat in the House of Lords on Wednesday from peers who wanted to see urgent action.

Announcing the ban, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said the new law would “rule out newspaper and periodical news magazine mergers involving ownership, influence or control by foreign states”. The government will bring forward an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill - which has its third reading next week - to block such deals, he added.

Lord Parkinson also confirmed the buyout ban would not apply to broadcasters. It comes as the investment fund RedBird IMI continues its push to take control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspaper titles and Spectator current affairs magazine, after paying off the debts of its previous owner.

The fund is 75%-owned by Sheikh Mansour, who is deputy prime minister and vice president of the UAE, and best known in the UK for transforming Manchester City Football Club.

The government's new law could apply to the Telegraph Media Group takeover if the law was passed swiftly, Lord Parkinson suggested.

In a statement reacting to the move, a spokesperson for RedBird IMI said they “remain committed” to investing in global media, adding: “We will now evaluate our next steps, with commercial interests continuing to be the sole priority.”

They continued: “To date, Redbird IMI has made six investments across the UK and US, and we believed the UK's media environment was worthy of further investment. As with each of our deals, we have been clear that the acquisition of The Telegraph and The Spectator has been a fully commercial undertaking.”