Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions (a) she and (b) ministers in her Department have had with Ofcom on the proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by RedBird IMI.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice on 30 November 2023 in relation to the anticipated acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by RedBird IMI on the grounds of the need for accurate presentation of news, and free expression of opinion, in newspapers.

The Notice triggers a requirement for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to report to the Secretary of State on jurisdictional and competition matters, and for Ofcom to report on the specified media public interest considerations. Ofcom and the CMA have now both launched invitations for public comment, and will report to the Secretary of State on the issues specified in the Notice by midnight on 26 January 2024.

It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.