MPs demand veto on foreign state press ownership

More than 100 MPs have tonight backed an amendment in the House of Lords which would give parliament a veto on foreign states owning UK media outlets. Robert Jenrick, the former Housing Secretary, has organised an open letter among colleagues, following the attempt by the UAE-owned RedBird IMI to take over the Telegraph and Spectator titles. Signatories include  a string of former Cabinet ministers including Sir John Redwood, Therese Coffey, Sir Simon Clarke, Robert Buckland, Stephen Crabb, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers and Sir Geoffrey Cox.

Jenrick’s letter to Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, says that: ‘If major newspaper and media organisations can be purchased by foreign governments, the freedom of the press has the potential to be seriously undermined.’ It notes that ‘No other democracy in the world has allowed a media outlet to be controlled by a foreign government. This is a dangerous Rubicon we should not cross.’ Their letter signals support for an amendment to the Digital Markets Bill by Tory peer Baroness Stowell that would create the new powers for parliament. It is due to be debated in the Lords next week, on either Monday 11 or Wednesday 13 March.

Two things are immediately striking about Jenrick’s letter tonight. The first is the degree to which it commands support across the Conservative party. Those concerned about foreign ownership of UK titles range from diehard Thatcherites to One Nation liberals. Representation of different strands in Tory thinking is represented in the form of Eurosceptics like Sir Bill Cash to internationalists like Alicia Kearns and Johnsonites like Sir Conor Burns.

The second is that Jenrick’s letter is simply the latest expression of parliamentary concern about the prospect of state-run vehicles owning British titles. In the Commons, Kearns tabled an Urgent Question in January; Michael Forsyth did similar in the Lords last week. Both occasions made clear the extent to which parliament was opposed to the nation of titles like the Telegraph and the Spectator being owned by a foreign state-backed company.

Judging the ‘mood of the House’ is an imprecise and inelegant way of assessing parliamentary opinion. But the demonstration of feelings on both occasions, combined with tonight’s development that around half the Conservative non-payroll rate have opted to sign Jenrick’s letter, show the strength of concern about these issues within parliament. Will the government accept that when it comes to responding to Stowell’s amendment next week?