I would block UAE-backed bid to take over Telegraph, says Lord Heseltine
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The Government should block the UAE-backed bid to take over The Telegraph, Lord Heseltine has said.
The Conservative grandee drew a parallel between the proposed deal and his decision to stop the defence companies British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce from falling into foreign hands in the 1990s.
Both The Telegraph and The Spectator are subject to a takeover bid from RedBird IMI, a fund backed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates.
The potential acquisition has raised concerns about editorial independence, and Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, has ordered a public interest investigation into the transaction.
Asked what he thought about the bid, Lord Heseltine told The Telegraph: “I personally don’t think that these things should get outside British control.”
Assurances ‘carry little weight’
RedBird IMI has tried to assuage worries about The Telegraph’s independence by promising legally binding undertakings that the UAE would have no involvement in the running of the paper.
It also says it plans to create an editorial trust of five public figures who would monitor compliance with the undertakings, and approve the future appointment of an editor.
However, Lord Heseltine said such pledges carried little weight and often proved “flexible” in practice. “I don’t think that assurances have any real long-term meaning,” he said.
Lord Heseltine held a variety of Cabinet posts from 1979 to 1997, serving as Margaret Thatcher’s defence secretary from 1983 to 1986 and occupying the role of deputy prime minister under John Major.
He was stripped of the Conservative whip in the House of Lords over his opposition to the government’s Brexit policy, but remains a Tory member.
Asked what the Government should do about the UAE bid, he said: “I would block it if I was Secretary of State.”
The peer – who was noted for his interventionist approach in government – compared the situation to his decision as trade and industry secretary and president of the Board of Trade to keep two key defence companies within British control.
He said: “I had the same situation with Rolls Royce and British Aerospace where they had blocking shares in them.
“I was president of the Board of Trade and I was told that I ought to get rid of [the blocking shares] because it would enable the companies to trade more effectively on the stock exchange. I told the officials where to go and British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce are still safely in British hands.”
Another member of a Thatcher Cabinet, Lord Waldegrave, has also expressed his opposition to the deal. The former health secretary told The Telegraph: “You can put me down as not supporting the sale of major media assets to the control of foreign governments.”
Thatcher ‘instinctively opposed’
Last week, Lord Baker – who served as education secretary and environment secretary under Thatcher – said she would have been “instinctively opposed” to the deal.
Lord Heseltine has previously been critical of foreign ownership of British newspapers in general, including Conrad Black’s stint as proprietor of The Telegraph and Rupert Murdoch’s ownership of The Times and The Sun.
“The broad issue is about industrial strategy,” he said. “Who owns, who directs, who invests, who controls and how you make the British economy effective.
“Included within that is ownership and censorship. Big subjects, highly controversial, on which I have known and strong views.”
Many of our readers have raised concerns over the potential sale of Telegraph Media Group to the Abu Dhabi-linked RedBird IMI. While Ofcom carries out its investigation we are inviting the submission of comments on the process. Email salecomments@telegraph.co.uk to have your say.
