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Statement on acquisitions of direct holdings in newspapers by state-owned investors

I am repeating the following Written Ministerial Statement made today in the other place by my Right Honourable Friend the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts, Ian Murray MP.

The Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) (No. 2) Regulations 2025 were debated and approved by Parliament in December 2025, and came into force on 31 January 2026.

They amended the exceptions for state-owned investors in the Foreign State Influence regime in the Enterprise Act 2002 to provide that if a state-owned investor acquires a direct holding of more than 5% of the shares or voting rights in a newspaper (up to a maximum of 15%), they must notify the Secretary of State and publish certain details on a website before the end of a period of 14 days beginning with the date of the relevant acquisition in order to qualify for the exception.

When the regulations were laid before Parliament, I made a Written Statement which set out the Secretary of State’s commitment to sharing a statement every six months on the details which state-owned investors have published about their investments pursuant to the regulation.

Since 31 January 2026, the Secretary of State has received no notifications of acquisitions resulting in a state-owned investor holding more than 5% in a UK newspaper directly.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will continue to publish statements every six months to maintain transparency around state-owned investment in newspapers, and to build public and parliamentary confidence in this regime. The next statement is due in January 2027.