Parliament and the press

Attempts by the Emirati government to buy The Spectator and the Telegraph through RedBird IMI, one of its state investment vehicles, pose a conundrum. There is no existing law against such a deal because until this point safeguards have not been needed. No autocracy has ever before attempted to buy a leading national newspaper in a democratic country.

The Prime Minister may feel powerless to stop the deal, given the lack of legal tools available, but Baroness Stowell, a Tory peer, has now proposed an amendment to the Digital Markets Bill. This would require that any foreign power which wishes to buy a national publication must first secure parliament’s approval. No one in the House of Commons or Lords has raised a serious objection to this common sense principle. But the government, fearful of being seen to interfere with the current (pointless) competition inquiry, is staying mute.

It may fall to Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture secretary, to say what no Tory minister will: that press freedom means freedom from government interference – any government.