Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2025

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Lord Clement-Jones

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

If a company has a series of 5% ownership stakes it will have a plurality of shareholders and therefore a mix of influence, but if you own a 15% stake you have a much higher share in the company and are probably entitled to a single board member.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

Is it not that there is a difference between 5% being held by a foreign government and 5% being held by a national wealth fund or something of that kind?

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

I entirely agree with the noble Lord. I do not understand why the noble Lord, Lord Knight, is raising what seems to be a pretty obvious issue.

The British public deserve to know that their morning newspaper delivers journalism guided by British values and editorial independence, not the preferences of foreign powers.

Briefly on this House’s conventions: the guidance issued in the 2006 report from the Joint Committee on Conventions—which was mentioned by noble friend Lord Fox—is still current, despite the 2015 Strathclyde review. It concluded:

“On the basis of the evidence, we conclude that the House of Lords should not regularly reject Statutory Instruments, but that in exceptional circumstances it may be appropriate for it to do so. This is consistent with past practice, and represents a convention recognised by the opposition parties”.


Subsequently in March 2007, with strong support from the then Archbishop of Canterbury I succeeded with a fatal amendment that prevented a super- casino being located in east Manchester. Since then, in January 2013, the noble Lord, Lord Bach, succeeded in defeating a legal aid order. I welcome what the noble Baroness, Lady Stowell, had to say about the existence of the convention.

Those were exceptional circumstances and so too are today’s. The ownership of our press is a matter of great public policy importance, and we are fully entitled to defeat these regulations. I urge noble Lords to support my noble friend Lord Fox’s fatal amendment. Let us send a clear message that the integrity of the British press is not negotiable: 5% is sufficient, but 15% is a doorway to influence that, once opened, may prove impossible to close. I commend the amendment to the House.

We on these Benches also oppose the draft Enterprise Act 2002 (Amendment of Section 58 Considerations) Order 2025 and the draft Enterprise Act 2002 (Definition of Newspaper) Order 2025, which have been tabled for approval today. These orders propose extending the ambit of the Enterprise Act to encompass digital media and broadening the definition of “news media” to explicitly include online news, websites and broadcasting. If we were at one on the question of media ownership then this would be a welcome extension. However, expansion at this time, while fundamental concerns regarding foreign ownership of traditional newspapers remain unresolved—or, indeed, are potentially being dangerously broadened—is illogical and dangerous, and we will not support these draft orders.