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Evening Standard and Independent could face inquiry over Saudi funds
Culture secretary will decide this month whether regulators should look into deal
The Evening Standard and the Independent could face a government investigation into whether they can accurately present news and guarantee freedom of expression after a mysterious Saudi investor bought substantial stakes.
The culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, said he had was minded to order regulators to look into the sale of 30% holdings in the two news outlets by their Russian owner, Evgeny Lebedev, on public interest grounds. A final decision will be made by the end of the month.
The announcement, made in the final weeks of Theresa May’s government, is potentially embarrassing for the Evening Standard editor, George Osborne. Any block on the investment could be financially damaging to the London newspaper, which is struggling due to a collapse in the value of print advertising. The company has already announced a round of job cuts.
Wright cited the national security section of the Enterprise Act 2002, which stipulates “the need for (a) accurate presentation of news; and (b) free expression of opinion” in newspapers.
“If I decide to issue an intervention notice, the next stage would be for Ofcom to assess and report to me on the public interest concerns and for the Competition and Markets Authority to assess and report to me on whether a relevant merger situation has been created and any impact this may have on competition,” Wright said.
Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel, a Saudi banker, made an investment in the Independent in July 2017, although little is known of his personal involvement in the deal. At the end of last year the Evening Standard’s parent company Lebdev Holdings sold a stake to an offshore company registered in the Cayman Islands, which was later revealed to be controlled by Abuljadayel, who has ties to Saudi’s state-owned bank.
The Independent has a launched a range of foreign-language websites run by a Saudi publisher that uses its name, raising concerns about editorial oversight given the Middle Eastern kingdom’s poor record on press freedom.
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