German Politico owner Axel Springer’s £575 million purchase of the Telegraph has been approved by the government. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said in a written Commons statement:
“In my quasi-judicial role I have assessed the proposed merger between Axel Springer and the Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd under the public interest media mergers regime and the foreign state influence regime as set out in the Enterprise Act 2002. I am currently not minded to intervene in this merger under either regime on the basis of the evidence available to me at this time. I am pleased to be able to take these positive steps, which give greater certainty to the Telegraph and its staff.”
Mathias Dopfner, Axel Springer CEO, said: “We are pleased to have received UK government approval to proceed with this acquisition. After a long period of uncertainty, we can confirm that we will invest significantly in The Telegraph’s editorial excellence and international growth.” New era…
The Telegraph has gone very big on Starmer’s contribution to a book by disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner in which he carps about the ECHR’s uses in prosecuting British troops. Their ‘exclusive’ investigation may sound familiar to co-conspirators…
Guido revealed that Starmer had contributed an entire chapter to Shiner’s book. In December 2024…
Starmer’s chapter was titled “Responsibility for Troops Abroad: UN-Mandated Forces and Issues of Human Rights Accountability.” Using one example Starmer explicitly argued that the ECHR’s jurisdiction should extend such that troops in action could be prosecuted more readily. Shiner – prior to being struck off – provided glowing praise for Starmer in the foreword of his book. Why won’t sharks attack human rights lawyers? Out of professional courtesy…
The Mail, the Telegraph, and the Times all reported claims that Bell had splashed £900 of taxpayers’ cash on a fancy new desk for his office. Bell denied it. The articles have now mysteriously vanished…
Good to see @DailyMail @thetimes and @Telegraph all delete their articles – sad the lies went up in the first place https://t.co/zQhncYFUyR
— Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) October 27, 2025
Credit where it’s due: it looks like Bell ended up forcing all three outlets to withdraw their stories. For all the latest real news on Budget Man Bell, click here…
Suella Braverman has penned a blistering op-ed for The Telegraph, doing the Tories no favours as they make a last-ditch effort before tomorrow’s polls. Declaring the election “over,” Braverman argued the real fight is to save the Tories from extinction, lauding Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage:
“Today the grandees – who, remember, bear no responsibility for the fate of the party they have led – lash out at Nigel Farage and Reform. I don’t agree with Mr Farage on everything, but we Tories need to reflect honestly and with humility to ask ourselves how a start-up party, with very little infrastructure, has galvanised the electorate and lured so many of our lifelong supporters?
The Reform phenomenon was predictable, avoidable and is entirely our own fault. This simple fact seems to be lost on my colleagues who have driven our party’s bus off the side of the cliff, while angrily blaming those of us who kept pointing at the obvious signs saying: “Cliff Edge Dead Ahead, Bad for Buses”.
Throughout the campaign, Braverman has suggested the Tories find a way to work with Farage, though that olive branch was quickly rebuffed by the Reform leader, who promised “all marriages were off.” Braverman has been rumoured to have her eyes set on a leadership bid, with her website, suella4leader.co.uk, last updated in June. Is this a not so subtle sign she might defect?
UPDATE: Farage says he backs Braverman’s admission that the Tories deserve to lose votes: “All she’s saying is what we have been saying throughout the campaign. The only logical conclusion you can take from her evisceration of her own party is that if you want to see people in the Commons fighting for the policies she espouses and standing up to Starmer, you need to vote for Reform UK.“
The Daily Mail has now followed The Telegraph and run an interesting piece titled “Why is Sir Keir Starmer’s wife not accompanying him on the campaign trail?“. It notes that many in the party think “Lady Vic” would be great on the campaign trail but is being kept off it for privacy. It says party insiders “have claimed that her absence is to protect the couple’s children.” In his Wednesday night interview with Beth Rigby in Grimsby Starmer said that children are the only thing that keeps him up at night:
“My only fear really is the impact it’s going to have on them. That’s why we never name them in public, never have a photo shoot with them. I want them to be able to go to school and have their own lives unaffected as much as I can by what I’m doing… the only thing that sort of keeps me up at night is worrying about my children.“
Labour sources suggest there are various reasons for Starmer’s insistence on privacy for his family. As The Telegraph declared this week – “Come what may, the spotlight will be on.”…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”