Proud Defiance From The Telegraph

D-Day looms for the future ownership of The Telegraph Group, which includes the excellent weekly The Spectator, a magazine it is possible to enjoy even if you disagree with every single sentence in it.

What we expect is for Ofcom to deliver its report to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) by 5pm on Friday.

The key issue being, are the UAE bidders, seen as in pole position, suitable owners for one of our most important media groups?

What we expect is that the DCMS will say only that it has received the report and is considering its findings, but, since politics is involved, all manner of leaks and speculations are possible/likely.

Even those of us who think the Telegraph is not what it used to be have to give it credit for its reporting of this issue.

Editors have been open in opposing the sale to the UAE, saying a foreign government with a questionable attitude to free speech can’t own their paper.

There’s an excellent spread in today’s edition headlined “How Cameron rolled out the red carpet for the UAE” – a special report by the investigations team and associate editor Gordon Rayner.

No hiding there.

A side panel and a fairly damning graphic looks at how the UAE’s “network of influence is spreading throughout the UK.”

Cameron, George Osborne, Tony Blair and others are name checked – and they are not supposed to feel flattered.

Spectator editor Fraser Nelson has been equally outspoken on his fears for the freedom of the press. He says: “The Emiratis stand to be the first government in the world to buy a national newspaper in another country, so it’s a test case.”

Now, I don’t recall the Tel having any objections to Middle Eastern buyers snapping up Harrods, Manchester City or stakes in the London Stock Exchange.

Their point is that newspapers are different, and they are surely right.

Since all of the editors involved stand to lose their jobs – or to feel they have to quit – if the UAE bid does succeed, this is bold stuff.

Every once in a while, the flak trade can still make you proud.