Watch: Lord Forsyth warns of foreign states owning British newspapers

All eyes were on the House of Lords this afternoon where it is the second reading of the Media Bill. Lord Forsyth, the former Scotland Secretary, has tabled what is known as a ‘motion to regret’ – a device which allows peers to express their opposition to legislation without stopping it. Forsyth’s ire had been sparked by the failure of the Bill to include a motion banning the ownership and control by foreign governments of British newspapers. It comes as the Emirati government is seeking to buy both the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, via an investment vehicle called Redbird IMI.

In his speech this afternoon, Forsyth criticised those who suggested that the Emirati state would have no editorial control over these organs of public opinion. He told his fellow peers ‘We have a saying in Scotland: he who pays the piper, calls the tune’ and suggested that the huge sums involved did not ‘strike me as an investment opportunity’ but rather as ‘being an influence opportunity.’