MPs want UK national security law used to vet Barclay family’s Telegraph offer

Financing from Abu Dhabi investors secured for bid but use of overseas sovereign wealth questioned

A group of Conservative MPs have written to the government asking it to use the UK's national security laws to investigate the Barclay family's attempt to regain control of the Telegraph newspaper group with funding from Abu Dhabi.

MPs, including Edward Leigh, John Hayes and the life peer Margaret Eaton, have written to the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, and the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, questioning the use of overseas sovereign wealth to buy Telegraph Media Group, the Financial Times reported.

The Barclays had owned the group, which includes the Daily and Sunday Telegraph as well as the Spectator, since 2004 but Lloyds Banking Group took control of it in June after the family failed to reach an agreement over more than 1bn in unpaid debt. It has since been put up for sale by the bank in an auction run by Goldman Sachs.