The DT, ST and the Spectator are at last about to be sold. They were taken over from the Barclay family by Lloyds Bank in lieu of £1.15 billion of unpaid debts. The bank is now about to auction the titles and one of the main contenders is a consortium backed by Abu Dhabi who are offering to repay the Barclays debts to the bank.
Charles Moore, who edited the papers at various times has
argued that a media purchase of such significance by a Gulf state would be dangerous. “The Telegraph and the Spectator are great British institutions. They should not be controlled by a foreign power,” he wrote. Moore added that the deal would in effect give control to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, which is very different from the simple sale of a commercial asset to an individual owner.
IDS is also opposed to the sale. "I just think it would be the wrong move,” he told the Observer this weekend. “I would just be very concerned to see one of the papers of record in the UK come under the control of somebody in the Middle East. It just seems bizarre to me. I would expect the secretary of state to call it in to have it properly reviewed. It’s a detrimental step.”
So suddenly the party that is in favour of free markets is opposed to this particular sale.
