London, Britain’s media minister, Lucy Frazer, announced on Thursday her intention to intervene in the acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI. The intervention is based on public interest grounds, citing potential impacts on the accurate presentation of news and the free expression of opinions.
The Daily Telegraph broadsheet and Spectator magazine, both right-leaning and favored by politicians in the Conservative Party, are undergoing a sale after Lloyds Banking Group took control in June, ending a dispute with the former owners, the Barclay family.
In a letter to RedBird, the government expressed concerns about the potential influence on the Telegraph’s operations. Minister Lucy Frazer stated, “My Department has today written to the Barclay family and RedBird IMI, the current and proposed owners of Telegraph Media Group (TMG), to inform them that I will be issuing a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN).”
By Reuters
