Tory MPs demand national security probe into the sale of the Telegraph to Abu Dhabi-based investment fund

Tory MPs have written to the Deputy Prime Minister to call for a national security probe into the sale of the Telegraph to an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund.

The letter, signed by 18 Conservatives, urges Oliver Dowden to review the sale over concerns about the ‘influence’ the purchase would give a ‘foreign government’ with ties to China.

Ministers are being asked to intervene in the sale to RedBird IMI, an investment fund backed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice-president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Under the deal, the fund would take control of the Telegraph titles and Spectator magazine after agreeing to pay off the debt owed by the Barclay family to Lloyds.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has said she is ‘minded’ to open an investigation into whether the deal was in the public interest, and the effect it would have on press freedom.

But the Tory MPs warn that the proposed deal ‘represents a very real potential national security threat’.

Tory MPs have written to the Deputy Prime Minister to call for a national security probe into the sale of the Telegraph to an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund

The letter, signed by 18 Conservatives , urges Oliver Dowden to review the sale over concerns about the ‘influence’ the purchase would give a ‘foreign government’ with ties to China

Signatories to the letter include Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns and former Tory Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith

The letter has been co-ordinated by Neil O’Brien, a former health minister

They write that the ‘influence’ owning the Telegraph could give to a ‘foreign government that is strengthening its relationship with Beijing at a time of growing tensions is… troubling’.

Confirmation that the deal will go ahead is expected to come today, with ministers likely to be given notice that the Barclay family is ready to repay a £1.16bn loan to Lloyds Banking Group.

Sky News reported that Lloyds, the Barclays and RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle which is funding the loan repayment, will write to Ms Frazer to give her 48 hours’ notice of the arrangement.

It said the notice – which had been demanded by Ms Frazer last week – would likely mean the funds being transferred to Lloyds as early as Friday, or at the start of next week.

In a letter co-ordinated by Neil O’Brien, a former health minister, the MPs said Mr Dowden should ‘pause’ the deal while it is reviewed against the National Security and Investment Act (NSI).

The MPs said the sale could ‘imperil these publications’ ability to report freely, which clearly poses a national security risk’.

They highlighted human rights charity Amnesty International’s concerns over the ‘serious implications’ for media freedom if the deal goes ahead.

The signatories, including Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns and former Tory Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said that UAE funding deals have come under scrutiny in the United States recently, due to the country’s ‘increasingly close relations with China’.

The letter told Mr Dowden: ‘We therefore think that, in addition to the sensible steps already taken, now is the time for the Government to announce that it will use its powers under the National Security and Investment Act to scrutinise this deal fully.

‘Taking action under the NSI Act would not prejudice the bid and those involved in it.

‘Instead, much like a Public Interest Intervention Notice, it would enable the Government to gather the necessary information and examine the proposed transactions in detail.

‘Lloyds Banking Group and the Barclay family have set an artificial deadline of completing the transaction this week, but they have been discussing this unpaid debt for years now.

‘Rather than being railroaded into clearing a transaction by interested parties we believe that the Government should instead pause the deal and take its time to fully look into all the issues, from the impact on press freedom and journalistic standards in the UK, to the impact it would have on our national security.’

Other MPs to have signed the letter include Robert Courts, chairman of the Defence Select Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Richard Drax, Simon Fell, James Grundy, Sir John Hayes, Simon Jupp, Jonathan Lord, Craig Mackinlay, Jill Mortimer, Sir John Redwood, Selaine Saxby, Alec Shelbrooke, Andrew Selous and Sir Desmond Swayne.

Labour frontbencher Dan Jarvis made a similar call in the House of Commons on Monday.

The Cabinet Office and RedBird IMI have been contacted for comment.

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