Ex-Telegraph editor: Readers would never forgive a Government which let the titles be sold to foreign power

Ministers would never be forgiven if they let the Daily Telegraph be sold to a foreign power, a veteran former editor of the paper warned last night.

Charles Moore said it was a 'great British institution' that must not be 'nationalised' – especially by a state that does not cherish Press freedoms.

He said there would 'to put it mildly, be a stink' if any newspaper was nationalised by a British government.

The former editor, who was made a peer in 2020, spoke out as the venerable 168-year-old Telegraph faces being bought by a group part-funded by the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates.

Lord Moore, who joined the Telegraph as a political reporter in 1979, has edited the daily edition, the Sunday Telegraph and their magazine stablemate the Spectator – and is still on the staff.

Writing for the Telegraph last night, he warned Rishi Sunak: 'It is little more than a statement of fact to say that the Telegraph and the Spectator are great British institutions. They should not be controlled by a foreign power.

'After more than 40 years' friendly acquaintance with the readers of all our titles, I feel quite confident in predicting that they would not forgive any government which let them go.'

The Government is mulling over whether to intervene in the sale of the Telegraph titles to RedBird IMI, a joint venture partly funded by Sheikh Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the UAE and owner of Manchester City FC.

Lord Moore, who was Lady Thatcher's authorised biographer, wrote: 'Imagine that the Telegraph (or any other British national newspaper, Left, Right or centre) were nationalised by the British government. There would, to put it mildly, be a stink. It would be seen as an unprecedented power grab by the state against the freedom of the Press.

'Luckily – though the freedom of the Press is never completely secure even here in Britain – newspaper nationalisation is seen as beyond the pale.

'Yet now, perhaps the week after next, the nationalisation of a British national newspaper seems possible. It would be nationalisation by a country which does not have Press freedom.'

He said the UAE, like 'all states, particularly authoritarian ones, will sacrifice the interests of others if it thinks its own interests are threatened'.

He cited the Gulf nation's increasing closeness to China, and warned: 'There is a reason why they do not go big on Press freedom: they fear freedom in all its forms and close it down if it causes trouble. They could do that to a newspaper.'

RedBird IMI has pledged to maintain the newspapers' editorial freedoms and be a 'passive investor'. But Lord Moore said such promises often made 'little difference to the structure of real power'.

Last night there were warnings of a Whitehall battle breaking out between departments over the issue because of the absence through illness of the cabinet secretary Simon Case.

Senior figures at the Foreign Office have already sought to 'take the edge off' a letter sent by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to RedBird IMI over fears about offending the United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi.

The tensions between the culture department and the more powerful Foreign Office risk becoming 'increasingly messy' over competing priorities, with ensuring a free Press being set against a drive to increase foreign investment, The Guardian has reported. Yesterday No 10 tried to calm matters by suggesting it was 'standard procedure' for the Foreign Office to have intervened.

There are also a number of other groups bidding to buy the Telegraph, including DMGT which owns the Mail.

RedBird IMI's chief executive Jeff Zucker, a former president of CNN, told the Financial Times yesterday: 'There should be no question about the editorial independence of the Telegraph or Spectator.

'I've spent 35 years running or supervising news organisations, and there's nothing I understand more than editorial independence. I have staked my reputation and legacy on not allowing editorial interference.'

He accused rival media organisations of 'slinging mud and throwing darts ... because they want to own these assets'.