Newspaper Publishing Plc Purchase

EDM number 812 in 1993-94, proposed by Richard Caborn on 10/03/1994.

That this House notes the bid by a consortium led by Mirror Group Newspapers for control of Newspaper Publishing plc, publishers of The Independent and Independent on Sunday, the primary selling point of which has been their editorial independence; is concerned by the existing concentration of press ownership in Britain; and urges the President of the Board of Trade, as a minimum, if he is minded to give consent to the bid, to impose conditions which preserve the editorial independence of the titles, ensures that Newspaper Publishing plc is not subsumed into Mirror Group Newspapers by ensuring that dealings for the provision of services between Mirror Group Newspapers and Newspaper Publishing are transparent and at arms length and that they are capable of termination, ensure balanced board representation, including a majority of independent directors, and prevent any shareholder from purchasing further shares above the level of 30 per cent. without a further reference to the President of the Board of Trade.

This motion has been signed by a total of 109 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.