UAE bid for the Telegraph would have undermined press freedom, Ofcom finds after two-and-a-half year wait

Ofcom has concluded that RedBird IMI's proposed takeover of the Telegraph Media Group would have operated "against the public interest" by threatening "free expression of opinion in newspapers". The reports by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority were published on Friday, more than two years after they were first written for then Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.

RedBird IMI is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments, a fund controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, owner of Manchester City.

IMI has pushed back sharply, saying it "completely rejects" Ofcom's findings and charging the watchdog with failing to assess it on its merits as a media business operating commercially.

The publication lands against a charged diplomatic backdrop: Manchester City's owners were judged to have violated Premier League spending rules, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham is under scrutiny over Abu Dhabi-backed regeneration funds from his tenure as Greater Manchester mayor.