Telegraph sale in turmoil after lead bidder linked to China’s politburo

Media group's own paper publishes photograph of RedBird Capital chair with alleged spy ring chief

The sale of the Telegraph Media Group has been thrown into fresh turmoil after the company's own newspaper linked its presumed new owner to the suspected ringleader of the alleged Chinese spy ring in Westminster.

Wednesday's edition of the Daily Telegraph published a 2024 photograph of the financier John Thornton shaking hands with Cai Qi, a senior member of the Chinese Communist party's ruling politburo, raising questions as to whether the British title is being weighed as a means for China to exert foreign influence.