‘Is There A Double Standard?’ UK Culture Secretary Defends New Law Thwarting Jeff Zucker’s Daily Telegraph Bid

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer defended the government’s move ​​ban on foreign state majority ownership of British newspapers, motivated by a Tory rebellion that seeks to block the sale of right-wing publications the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator.

The Conservative government plans to implement the change through a legislative amendment to the Digital Markets Bill that would thwart a buy-over by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI, a joint venture between RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments (IMI), linked to the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Good Morning Britain host Ed Balls pressed the politician on whether the government’s legislative manoeuvre was a “double standard” since the same fund has an ownership stake in Manchester City Football Club.

Balls: “The interesting thing is that [Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan], a member of the UAE royal family, owns Manchester City. He gets a tick from you. You’ve also announced as a government in recent days you’re going to legislate to stop the same UAE fund backed by the royal family from buying the Daily Telegraph. I wondered, why do you think you should legislate to stop the same people by the Daily Telegraph but it’s OK for them to own Manchester City? Is there a double standard there?

Frazer: “I don’t think there is, Ed. And if you don’t mind, if I just address it in general terms rather than in relation to a particular transaction that’s going on at the moment, what we’re saying in the media space is that it’s not… This is what Parliament is saying, in the media space, is that it is not appropriate for a foreign state, or indeed the UK government, to own a newspaper. And that’s because we believe in this country in a free press. And we don’t think that the media should… The media’s job is to call power to account. And it’s therefore inappropriate for the UK government to own a newspaper. And it is therefore also inappropriate for a foreign state to own a newspaper. But we are very much open for business in terms of foreign investment in other spheres like football.”

Balls: “So foreign states can own our football clubs, you don’t really mind about them, you don’t particularly care about them. But it’s only the Daily Telegraph that you are worried about protecting as a British brand?”

Frazer: “Well, I would draw a distinction, actually. I said I wasn’t talking about the Telegraph particularly. I would draw a distinction between…”

Balls: “No, I was talking about the Telegraph.”

Frazer: “I would draw a distinction between a football club and any other commercial entity and a newspaper which has a role in our democracy.”

The proposed law reportedly leaves room for deals where foreign state involvement does not lead to control or significant influence, potentially allowing RedBird IMI, the joint venture fronted by Zucker, to present a revised bid with less UAE stake. Last week the Financial Times reported that RedBird Capital is now eyeing a full divestiture or potentially drawing in US investors to replace the IMI funds.

This all comes even though Zucker vowed to protect “editorial independence” should he succeed in his buy over, asserting IMI was a passive investor, which failed to appease concerned journalists and politicians.

Despite Frazer’s denials that the legislation around media assets is not associated with “a particular transaction” it was Frazer who personally halted the deal’s progress in December when she issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN), prompting investigations by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the deal’s implications for press freedom.