Telegraph could become ‘PR arm’ of UAE after proposed takeover, MPs warned

Several MPs called on the government to launch a review of media ownership rules in light of the potential implications of the Telegraph deal. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

MPs have attacked the proposed UAE-backed takeover of the Telegraph newspapers, warning that it is impossible to “separate sheikh and state” and calling for further investigations to be launched before the deal “turns into a disaster for the government”.

Julia Lopez, a media minister, was grilled in the Commons after the submission of an urgent question raising concerns over the Barclay family’s complex deal to transfer control of the Telegraph and the Spectator to RedBird IMI.