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?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, July 29, 2017
EXCLUSIVE: Saudi investor ploughs millions into liberal icon of UK media
Sultan Mohamed Abuljadayel gains 'significant control' of Independent alongside Russian media mogul Evgeny Lebedev
Independent's newspaper folded in 2016, but fortunes have since improved with digital growth (AFP)
Jamie Merrill-Saturday 29 July 2017
LONDON - A mysterious
Saudi-based investor has ploughed millions of dollars into a British
news organisation renowned for championing liberal causes, in a move
that will enrage human rights and media freedom campaigners.
Sultan Mohamed Abuljadayel, 42, listed in company records as a
Saudi-based Saudi Arabian national, has acquired up to 50 percent of
the Independent website,
whose newspaper shook Britain's journalism establishment in the 1980s
before struggling financially and ditching the printed word in 2016.
According to registers updated on Companies House on Friday,
Abuljadayel controls up to 50 percent of voting rights within
Independent Digital News and Media, the company that controls the
Independent brand.
An informed Saudi source described Abuljadayel to Middle East Eye as
coming from an "established business family based in Medina".
He now sits with Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a Soviet KGB spy turned
Russian oligarch, as a "person of significant control" in the company.
Justin Byam Shaw, described by close associates as a "serial
entrepreneur", is a third.
A source with knowledge of the deal said the investment may be as much
as £100m, although MEE was unable to independently confirm the exact
amount changing hands.
But such a figure would be an incredible reversal of fortunes for a
company that had lost millions of pounds a year for decades and was sold
to the Lebedev family in 2010 for the sum of £1.
Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a former Russian KGB agent (AFP)
The paper's enduring left-of-centre coverage had ensured the title
remained an editorial force even as it struggled with declining sales
and huge losses before eventually closing in what was a blow to British
media plurality.
The Independent's fortunes have risen since the presses stopped rolling
last year, however, with the company reporting a record profit of £1.7m
($2.2m) as online readership increased by 20 percent and revenue jumped
by 75 percent.
But the Saudi purchase of a "significant" chunk of the company has sparked criticism among rights campaigners.
Peter Tatchell told Middle East Eye: "It would not seem consistent with
the Independent's record of championing liberal values for a Saudi
sultan to have a significant share in the ownership of this media
outlet.
"A lot more questions need to be asked, and answered, before the public
can be reassured that there is no clash of values between the sultan and
the Independent."
Seamus Dooley, acting general secretary of the National Union of
Journalists, told MEE that he had major misgivings about the revelation.
"The NUJ is in favour of maximum transparency in terms of media
ownership, and we know nothing about this group," he said, referring to
the investor.
"Also, there are serious concerns about Saudi and their relationship
with the concept of media freedom and the record of anyone from Saudi in
terms of human rights is something that would be of concern to us."
Questions need to be answered before the public can be reassured that there is no clash of values- Peter Tatchell
MEE understands the deal was signed as long as a month ago and that the
Saudi move follows previous interest from a separate group of Gulf
investors several years ago.
When asked about the involvement of a Saudi national in a paper that
has championed progressive politics, gender equality and LGBT rights and
opposed the use of the death penalty, a source close to the deal told
MEE: "We really do live in weird times."
Senior journalists at the Independent said they were unaware of the investment, and declined to comment further.
Writing on the website six months after the closure of the print
edition, the Independent’s editor, Christian Broughton, said: "Our
guiding principles have not changed.
"An absolute rejection of party political ties and spin, a total
commitment to honesty, a heartfelt empathy with people of every creed
and colour around the world, a deep-set belief in progressive, liberal
values, and passion.”
Broughton did not respond to requests for comment from Middle East Eye before publication.
Saudi Arabia and press freedom
Saudi involvement in the media outlet will prove controversial, given
the kingdom's use of the death penalty and well-document allegations of
torture and mistreatment of prisoners.
According to Freedom House, which monitors press freedom, Saudi Arabia has "one of the most restricted media environments in the world”.
Writers critical of the Saudi government face “harsh punishment” and the
ongoing military offensive in Yemen has seen the Saudi government
"shape media coverage" by "cracking down on domestic dissent and
restricting access to Yemen by foreign journalists".
Lebedev, who also owns the London Evening Standard newspaper, is a
regular on the London social circuit and is regularly pictured in his
media outlets, often with members of the royal family.
He courted controversy earlier this year when he appointed former chancellor George Osborne to edit the Standard.
Lebedev was reported to have made an offer to buy the Daily Telegraph from the Barclay brothers.
Byam Shaw was brought in by former Standard editor Geordie Greig – now
editing the Mail on Sunday - who said the "serial entrepreneur" would
help negotiate the sale of the majority stake in the Standard from owner
Associated Newspapers on behalf of the Lebedevs.