To the Commons, where Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer this afternoon gave a ministerial statement on the future of the Telegraph Media Group. It follows this morning’s news that the Abu Dhabi-backed company RedBird IMI will put the Daily Telegraph and Spectator titles back up for sale, after parliament moved to block foreign state ownership of UK newspapers and magazines. Frazer gave the House a brief outline of the government’s unchanged stance and then it was the turn of Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire to demand some answers.

After a year of negotiations over the sale, the Shadow Culture Secretary wanted to know when exactly the question of the Telegraph’s ownership would finally be concluded:

From the very start, Labour had questions about the proposed sale of some of our country’s most highly influential and historic news publications… We of course welcome investment that makes a valuable contribution to our diverse media landscape so we will follow this auction process closely. Can she give us more information on timescale for the auction? What discussions has she had with trade unions representing staff at the Telegraph Media Group? What steps will she be taking to ensure that this is a free and open sale, and will she keep the House updated? What will she do to ensure a competitive media landscape into the future? It’s important that the Secretary of State gets this right, especially in an election year. Our democracy is too precious to leave to chance.

For her part Frazer replied that:

In relation to timescale, I understand the certainty that is needed for the publication and those working within that and I expect and hope that this will be concluded in short order, understanding of course that it is important for the sale process to take place. This is a regulatory process and of course, at appropriate stages, I will of course update members of the House.

Sounds like we shouldn’t hold our breath anytime soon then. And you thought it was the West End which was famous for having long-running comedies…

Watch the clip here: