Following the Government statement on the proposed sale of the Telegraph Media Group to RedBird IMI, James Sunderland raises concerns about the impact of foreign ownership of our institutions and businesses on our national resilience, strategic independence and critical infrastructure.
James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)
I am sure that many Members are, like me, concerned about foreign ownership of our institutions and businesses. Our national resilience, strategic independence and critical infrastructure, as well as our media, are vital. To quote the well-known album, how do we ensure that we do not end up selling England by the pound?
The Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries (Julia Lopez)
As I have said in answers to similar questions, we have powers to look into some of those investment and ownership questions, and they do not relate just to the media. We now have much broader national security and investment powers in relation to questions such as these and to other areas in which there is a critical national interest in the ownership of a particular asset. It would be wrong for Members to leave the Chamber with the belief that there are no such powers and that all these acquisitions can go ahead regardless of security and other implications.