ANDREW Neil has said he will quit as chairman of The Spectator should an Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of both the magazine and The Telegraph go ahead.
The journalist urged ministers to block a bid by RedBird IMI, an investment fund majority-owned by senior rulers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to buy the two publications.
We previously told how Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has triggered a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) to investigate the potential impact the takeover could have on press freedom.
Speaking to Newsnight, Neil said: “My main concern is that the people bankrolling this are the UAE, the United Arab Emirates.
'If Redbird takes it over I will be gone'
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 25, 2024
Chairman of The Spectator, Andrew Neil says he will quit if the UAE-US consortium takes over the Daily Telegraph and its sister title The Spectator magazine. #newsnight pic.twitter.com/uusFqsVW9q
“They are a government, and the idea that government should own newspapers and magazines in Britain I think is absurd.
“But they are not just a government, they are an undemocratic government – they are a dictatorship. The UAE is a terribly successful place – I have done business there – but it is not a democratic government.
“We are a democracy, our publications are part of the democratic process. How could we be owned by an undemocratic government?”
READ MORE: BBC Question Time: Fiona Bruce clashes with audience member over Palestine
In her role as Culture Secretary, Frazer (below) has the power to ultimately decide if the deal should be approved, requires further guarantees or amendments, or if it should simply be blocked it outright.
RedBird IMI is majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of UAE and the owner of Manchester City Football Club.
Neil continued: “The Government should be stepping in because we shouldn’t be owned by a foreign government – any kind of government, particularly a dictatorship.”
“If RedBird take it over, I’ll be gone,” he added.
RedBird announced in November it had reached a deal with previous Telegraph owners, the Barclay family, to take control of the newspaper group and fellow publication The Spectator by paying off debts owed to their bank, Lloyds.
Frazer’s intervention over press freedom fears also led to a review by media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority.
Neil was also critical of former CNN executive Jeff Zucker, who is leading the bid.
He told the BBC last month that Sheikh Mansour would be a “passive investor” and that the takeover was “American-led”.
Although he called Zucker a “very impressive broadcasting executive”, Neil said he “knows nothing about Britain, he knows nothing about print, he knows nothing about newspapers, and he knows nothing about magazines”.
He added: “So the idea that these two vital vehicles of mainstream centre-right thought should be owned by Arab money and controlled out of New York by a left-wing Democrat beggars belief.”
READ MORE: Michelle Mone has £75m of assets hit by court order
On Tuesday, RedBird announced it had created a UK-based holding company for the Telegraph newspapers.
Officials have informed the fund that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s view is that the restructure has created a new relevant merger situation, which could affect the current process into the potential impact of a takeover deal.
A spokesman for RedBird IMI said the change “was made in order to clarify the point that IMI is a passive investor in the company that will own the Telegraph and as such will have no management or editorial investment whatsoever in the title”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel