Lucy Powell MP, Labour’s Shadow Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Secretary, has criticised Boris Johnson’s handling of the Newcastle United takeover, saying the former prime minister “wouldn’t know the truth if it smacked him in the face”, and called on the government to expedite plans for an independent regulator in football.
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This follows a report from The Athletic earlier on Thursday which revealed the UK government considered the possible failure of Newcastle takeover to be an “immediate risk” to its relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Then-UK prime minister Johnson had told parliament in a written question and answer in April 2021 — six months before the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund-backed takeover of Newcastle went through — that “the government was not involved at any point in the takeover talks on the sale of Newcastle United”.
The Athletic’s report details 59 pages of emails between government officials regarding the takeover.
The papers say that Johnson’s chief strategic advisor Sir Edward Lister even sought to find a “senior interlocutor to impress the interests” of the government onto the Premier League.
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Newcastle's Saudi takeover: The UK government's emails revealed
The emails also appear to show the British Foreign Office pushing to help burnish the image of Saudi Arabia, a country accused of a litany of human rights abuses. A British foreign official flagged up a BBC interview granted by legal representatives of the grieving fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in April 2020 when she pleaded with the Premier League to block the Newcastle takeover. The documents say that the Department of International Trade (DIT) intended to distribute a public relations offer, presumably to assist the takeover process.
The papers also record that Neil Crompton, the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met with PIF officials to discuss the takeover, and in a later email, Crompton says: “There are a number of ways in which HMG (Her Majesty’s Government) can seek to facilitate dialogue with both the PIF and Saudi authorities on this to come up with the assurances the Premier League seek.”
The Foreign Office minister James Cleverly, who is now foreign secretary and a member of the cabinet, had a call with the Saudi ambassador to the UK in which he requested an update on the bid. The Foreign Office prepared a briefing note for Johnson before a scheduled call with MBS as to how the prime minister should respond if Saudi’s crown prince pressed him on the issue.
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The Labour Party shadow DCMS secretary Powell told The Athletic on Thursday. “Boris Johnson wouldn’t know the truth if it smacked him in the face. Despite saying the government was not involved in the Newcastle takeover, these papers suggest otherwise.
“It’s clear that football needs an independent regulator yet government has continually dragged its feet. They urgently need to crack on, so proper scrutiny of club takeovers can be put in place.”
When asked about his previous statement in the context of what we now know, a spokesperson for Johnson said it would be a question for the government rather than the then-prime minister himself. The government declined to comment on behalf of Johnson but did say that “the Government has not had a role at any point in the takeover of Newcastle United.”
In February, the government announced its plans for an independent regulator in football — a measure that had been called for by Tracey Crouch MP’s fan-led review in November 2021.
The government endorsed the proposal in April 2022 but no timeframe has yet been set for when the independent regulator will come into effect.
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Newcastle's Saudi takeover: The UK government's emails revealed
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