Nandy scrutinising Mail bid to buy the Daily Telegraph

The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has written an “unprecedented” letter announcing her decision to issue a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) into the Daily Mail and General Trust’s (DMGT) bid to buy the Daily Telegraph.

It expresses concerns that the deal would personally give Mail owner Lord Rothermere significant control of “right-leaning” media, delaying, or possibly derailing, the acquisition.

Previous PIINs, such as that conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into DMGT’s acquisition of the i newspaper in 2019, looked at competition and if the new owner would reduce plurality of views. But in May 2025, Nandy gained expanded powers to allow greater scrutiny of takeovers that might “negatively impact accurate reporting, freedom of expression and media plurality” – including plurality of ownership.

This scrutiny applies to all news media, including online editions. Previously, free expression and plurality of views were Ofcom’s only concern. But in her letter, the culture secretary refers to a new requirement to ensure “a sufficient plurality of persons with control of the media”.

“It’s unprecedented for the [secretary] to opine on the loss of media plurality prior to receiving the advice of Ofcom,” says Alice Enders at Enders Analysis. “Nandy’s desire is for the Telegraph to be sold to new money. The letter imagines DMGT exercising some sort of coordinated effect on elections… [to] give a leg up to the conservatives. The fact is, they’ve always, always been conservative.”

A £50,000 donation by Lady Rothermere to Reform UK in the last quarter – the first time a member of the family has given money to a political party – may have prompted Nandy’s concern over Rothermere’s ownership of a majority of “right-leaning” newspapers.

The PIIN, issued last Thursday issued 12 February, has been sent to Ofcom and the CMA, with both reporting back in June.

Photograph by Lucy North/PA Wire