UK will change law to ban foreign states from owning newspapers - Sky News

Britain will change the law to ban foreign states from owning, influencing or controlling British newspapers, Sky News reported on Wednesday, a move that could threaten the Abu-Dhabi-backed Redbird IMI bid for the Telegraph newspaper. Sky reporter Mark Kleinman said in a post on X that the government would seek to make the changes through an amendment.

Britain will change the law to ban foreign states from owning, influencing or controlling British newspapers, Sky News reported on Wednesday, a move that could threaten the Abu-Dhabi-backed Redbird IMI bid for the Telegraph newspaper.

Sky reporter Mark Kleinman said in a post on X that the government would seek to make the changes through an amendment. Legislation which could be used as a vehicle for that change is due to be debated in the House of Lords later on Wednesday. The decision comes at a time when Britain is using a separate regulatory process to weigh up whether to allow Redbird IMI's bid for the Telegraph.

The bid for the politically influential Telegraph has raised questions about the independence of the media and the role of foreign investors acquiring assets that could undermine press freedom.