Lord Hague urges Culture Secretary to ‘intervene’ on Telegraph sale

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former foreign secretary Lord Hague has described the sale of the Daily Telegraph to a United Arab Emirates-based investment fund as “disturbing”. Lord Hague told Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, who is considering whether the deal warrants intervention on public interest grounds, that he would “certainly intervene”. One of Britain's great advantages is that we still have an irreverent, searching, competitive media Lord Hague “I say that as an avowed enthusiast for the Emirates, its achievements and its role in the world.” Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Tory MP Alicia Kearns also voiced concerns, saying there were a group of MPs having private conversations about the potential implications the deal would have for press freedom. “In his world, there was no clear separation between private and public interest, or between national policy and media coverage.” He said the Culture Secretary needed to weigh up assurance of editorial independence against the “possible threat to free expression from what would be, in effect, foreign state ownership”.