Tory MP raises fresh questions over Abu Dhabi-backed Telegraph deal
A Conservative MP is urging ministers to extend a probe into the prospective takeover of The Daily Telegraph, warning that the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle which wants to acquire it may already be exerting “material influence” over the newspaper.
Sky News has learned that Neil O’Brien, a former health minister who sits on the Tory backbenches, wants the culture secretary to issue a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) which encompasses RedBird IMI’s repayment of a £1.2bn debt to Lloyds Banking Group on behalf of the Barclay family.
Mr O’Brien said that while Lucy Frazer had been right to issue a PIIN focused on the conversion of that debt into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers, she should go further by also subjecting the debt repayment to scrutiny from Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority.
This would, he said, be the only way to ensure that RedBird IMI could not challenge any subsequent action that the government may wish to take in relation to the deal.
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“It is clear that the Secretary of State is carefully considering the important issues around press freedom and national security raised by this deal,” he said.
“I am, however, deeply concerned by recent reporting that RedBird IMI told the Telegraph’s independent directors that it will determine the future ownership of the paper, even if their bid is blocked.
“This raises worrying questions about the level of material influence RedBird IMI, and therefore a foreign power, already holds over the paper through the debt arrangements currently in place, as well as the control they will still be able to exert even if the bid is blocked.
“It is vital that the government retains control over the process and its ability to protect the free press in this country.
“In light of these new developments, I think it’s crucial that the Secretary of State uses her powers to scrutinise this complicated deal by issuing a separate PIIN into the initial purchase of the debt.
Lucy Frazer is being urged to broaden the inquiries she has ordered. Pic: PA
“Doing so will give myself, parliamentary colleagues, Telegraph readers, and staff, full confidence in this process.”
Mr O’Brien’s comments come just two days before a deadline imposed by Ms Frazer for Ofcom and the CMA to submit their preliminary findings to her department.
Neil O’Brien is pictured during an appearance on Sky News last year
Many observers expect that the debt-for-equity swap will be referred by the CMA to a more in-depth Phase-II investigation that could leave the Telegraph’s future mired in uncertainty for months.
Sky News revealed recently that the Telegraph’s parent company’s independent directors had been notified by RedBird IMI that it intended to determine the titles’ future ownership even in the event that it is prevented from taking control of its shares.
The Gulf-based investor – a joint venture between RedBird of the US and Abu Dhabi-based IMI – had been keen to dispel the idea that either the independent directors or the Barclay family, the newspaper’s beneficial owners, would oversee any future auction.
Because RedBird IMI also owns a call option which can be exercised in exchange for ownership of the media assets, it believes it would be “in total control” of any process should the government block the acquisition, a source told Sky News earlier this month.
“In such an eventuality, RedBird IMI would be free to sell the loan and call option to whoever they wished,” they added.
Scores of MPs and peers have lined up to oppose the takeover, arguing that the UAE has a poor record of upholding journalists’ ability to report impartially.
A string of prominent Telegraph writers, as well as the editor of The Spectator – which also forms part of the transaction but is not subject to the PIIN – have complained publicly about the prospect of the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle gaining control of influential British media assets.
However, RedBird IMI – whose bid is spearheaded by Jeff Zucker, the former CNN president – remains confident that the editorial protections that it has submitted to Ofcom will address any concerns and pave the way for the deal to be approved.
Under the terms of the PIIN issued by Ms Frazer, RedBird IMI is prohibited from exerting any influence over the titles while investigations by the competition and media regulators are ongoing.
That includes the removal of key executives and editorial staff or any attempt to merge the Telegraph with other assets.
However, Cormac O’Shea, the Telegraph finance chief, has since stepped down, and there is mounting speculation that Nick Hugh, the newspapers’ chief executive, is about to follow suit.
The Telegraph’s holding company was forced into receivership by Lloyds Banking Group last year, following a long-running dispute over the repayment of a £1.16bn debt.
The loans and interest were repaid in December after the Barclay family structured a deal with RedBird IMI, which is majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club.
The Times reported last month that TMG’s independent directors had alerted Whitehall to possible irregularities in the accounts of the family’s media assets, with the National Crime Agency reportedly informed.
RedBird IMI’s move to fund the loan redemption circumvented an auction of the Telegraph, which drew interest from a range of bidders.
The hedge fund billionaire and GB News shareholder Sir Paul Marshall, Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere and National World, a London-listed local newspaper publisher, had all hired advisers to assemble offers for the newspapers.
Italy’s securities regulator set a firm timetable for applying the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the country, warning that unlicensed crypto platforms face a deadline to either seek authorization or leave the market.
The move directly affects virtual asset service providers (VASPs) currently operating under Italy’s regime and the retail investors who use them.
In a news release published Thursday, Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) reminded the market that Dec. 30 is the last day VASPs registered with the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) can operate under the existing national framework.
After that date, only entities authorized as crypto asset service providers (CASPs) under MiCA, including firms passporting into Italy from another EU member state, will be allowed to offer crypto‑asset services in the country.
CONSOB notes that, under Italy’s MiCA‑implementing legislation, VASPs that submit an application to be authorized as CASPs in Italy or another European Union member state by Dec. 30 may continue operating while their applications are assessed, but no later than June 30, 2026.
This transitional operating period is available only to operators who file by the deadline and ends once authorization is granted or refused, or when the June 30, 2026, limit is reached.
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Obligations for firms that do not apply
For VASPs that decide not to seek authorization under MiCA, CONSOB outlined specific obligations. These operators must cease their activities in Italy by Dec. 30, terminate existing contracts, and return clients’ crypto‑assets and funds in accordance with customers’ instructions.
CONSOB also said that VASPs registered in the OAM list must publish adequate information on their websites and inform clients directly about the measures they intend to adopt, either to comply with MiCA or to ensure an orderly closure of existing relationships.
This framework stems from Italy’s legislative decree implementing MiCA, which introduced a transitional regime for existing VASPs and set the conditions under which they can continue operating while moving to the new CASP authorization system. The decree makes use of the flexibility allowed by MiCA’s transitional provisions to set national deadlines, including the June 30, 2026 date referred to in CONSOB’s communication.
Warnings to retail investors
CONSOB’s news release includes a separate section titled “warnings for investors.”
The regulator points out that VASPs currently operating in Italy may no longer be authorized to do so after Dec. 30, and stresses that investors should check whether they have received the necessary information from their provider on its plans to comply with MiCA.
If not, CONSOB advises investors to ask the operator for clarification or request the return of their funds.
EU‑level context under MiCA
CONSOB’s communication sits within the wider EU framework for MiCA’s application and transitional measures. On the same day, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the end of MiCA transitional periods, highlighting that member states can provide temporary continuation of existing licenses for existing providers, but these periods are limited and will expire.
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The ESMA’s statement explains that firms operating under national transitional regimes are not automatically MiCA‑authorized and emphasizes the need for “orderly wind-down plans” where providers do not obtain authorization before transitional periods end.
Italy’s hard stop for applications and continued operation shows how member states are using the discretion MiCA gives them over transitional regimes. The Italian transitional period now has defined end‑points, and continued activity in the market will require MiCA‑compliant authorization.
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A new long-awaited child poverty strategy is promising to lift half a million children out of poverty by the end of this parliament – but critics have branded it unambitious.
The headline announcement in the government’s plan is the pledge to lift the two-child benefit cap, announced in Rachel Reeves’s budget last week.
It also includes:
• Providing upfront childcare support for parents on universal credit returning to work
• An £8m fund to end the placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond a six-week limit
• Reforms to cut the cost of baby formula
• A new legal duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation
Many of the measures have previously been announced.
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Two-child cap ‘a real victory for the left’
The government also pointed to its plan in the budget to cut energy bills by £150 a year, and its previously promised £950m boost to a local authority housing fund, which it says will deliver 5,000 high-quality homes for better temporary accommodation.
Downing Street said the strategy would lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030, saying that would be the biggest reduction in a single parliament since records began.
But charities had been hoping for a 10-year strategy and argue the plan lacks ambition.
A record 4.5 million children (about 31%) are living in poverty in the UK – 900,000 more since 2010/11, according to government figures.
Phillip Anderson, the Strategic Director for External Affairs at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), told Sky News: “Abolishing the two-child limit is a hell of a centre piece, but beyond that it’s mainly a summary of previously announced policies and commitments.
“The really big thing for me is it misses the opportunity to talk about the longer term. It was supposed to be a 10-year strategy, we wanted to see real ambition and ideally legally binding targets for reducing poverty.
“The government itself says there will still be around four million children living in poverty after these measures and the strategy has very little to say to them.”
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‘A budget for benefits street’
‘Budget for benefits street’ row
The biggest measure in the strategy is the plan to lift the two-child benefit cap from April. This is estimated to lift 450,000 children out of poverty by 2030, at a cost of £3bn.
The government has long been under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to scrap the cap, with most experts arguing that it is the quickest, most cost-effective way to drive-down poverty this parliament.
The cap, introduced by Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children. It meant the average affected household losing £4,300 per year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated in 2024.
The government argues that a failure to tackle child poverty holds back the economy, and young people at school, cutting their employment and earning prospects in later life.
However, the Conservatives argue parents on benefits should have to make the same financial choices about children as everyone else.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “Work is the best way out poverty but since this government took office, unemployment has risen every single month and this budget for Benefits Street will only make the situation worse. “
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‘Bring back Sure Start’
Lord Bird, a crossbench peer who founded the Big Issue and grew up in poverty, said while he supported the lifting of the cap there needed to be “more joined up thinking” across government for a longer-term strategy.
He has been pushing for the creation of a government ministry of “poverty prevention and cure”, and for legally binding targets on child poverty.
“You have to be able to measure yourself, you can’t have the government marking its own homework,” he told Sky News.
Lord Bird also said he was a “great believer” in resurrecting Sure Start centres and expanding them beyond early years.
The New Labour programme offered support services for pre-school children and their parents and is widely seen to have improved health and educational outcomes. By its peak in 2009-2010 there were 3,600 centres – the majority of which closed following cuts by the subsequent Conservative government.
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Lord Bird on the ‘great distraction’ from child poverty
PM to meet families
Sir Keir Starmer’s government have since announced 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs – but many Labour MPs feel this announcement went under the radar and ministers missed a trick in not calling them “Sure Starts” as it is a name people are familiar with.
The prime minister is expected to meet families and children in Wales on Friday, alongside the Welsh First Minister, to make the case for his strategy and meet those he hopes will benefit from it.
Several other charities have urged ministers to go further. Both Crisis and Shelter called for the government to unfreeze housing benefit and build more social rent homes, while the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said that “if we are to end child poverty – not just reduce it” measures like free bus travel for school-age children would be needed.
The strategy comes after the government set up a child poverty taskforce in July 2024, which was initially due to report back in May. The taskforce’s findings have not yet been published – only the government’s response.
Sir Keir said: “Too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals and the support they need to make ends meet.
“I will not stand by and watch that happen, because the cost of doing nothing is too high for children, for families and for Britain.”
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