Leading journalist on The Daily Telegraph says the paper should not be bought by a misogynist regime

A leading journalist on The Daily Telegraph last night warned that the newspaper should not be owned by a 'sexist regime'.

Associate editor Camilla Tominey wrote an article on The Telegraph's website raising serious concerns about the UAE-backed fund trying to buy the established news brand.

She claimed the controversial deal 'doesn't pass the sniff test' because 'the UAE falls short of Western standards and values'.

The Gulf state has faced criticism over its records on human rights and freedom of expression, including the way in which women are treated in the country. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer earlier this week ordered media regulator Ofcom to investigate whether the deal with the fund, RedBird IMI, risked 'the need for accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion in newspapers'.

Ms Tominey said Ms Frazer should recognise that a newspaper 'promoting women as key columnists' might 'struggle to operate under the guise of any authoritarian regime that implements sexist laws'.

The article was headlined 'A misogynist foreign state must not be allowed to own The Telegraph'. Ms Tominey said she was 'deeply concerned about the potential for this newspaper to be owned by a sexist regime'.

She wrote: 'While women in the UAE have made huge progress and enjoy more freedoms than others in the Middle East, they are still discriminated against in the judicial system, as reports by international observers have found.'

She added that the takeover 'has implications that go well beyond the media regulator's remit', concluding: 'In assessing this bid, Lucy Frazer and indeed Rishi Sunak would be wise to ask themselves one fundamental question: do they want women like me to carry on writing these sorts of articles for The Telegraph or not?'

Ms Frazer yesterday barred the fund from taking over the newspaper while she awaits findings of the probe.

A spokesman for the bid said earlier this week that the fund is 'committed to maintaining the existing editorial team' and believes editorial independence 'is essential' to protecting the credibility of The Telegraph titles.