Reporters would not be able to speak freely under proposed new Gulf state owners, says co-founder of the Art Newspaper.

A journalist has revealed how she was sacked for criticising the royal family of the United Arab Emirates as she warned that Telegraph journalists would not be able to speak freely if a planned takeover by the Gulf state went ahead.

Anna Somers Cocks, the co-founder of the Art Newspaper, urged the Government to block the takeover as she discussed how they made her a “non-person” in retaliation for unfavourable coverage of the UAE.

RedBird IMI, which is 75 per cent funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vicepresident of the UAE, is trying to take control of The Telegraph and its sister magazine The Spectator.

Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, has ordered Ofcom to further investigate the attempted takeover amid concerns about editorial independence, to which RedBird IMI says it is “entirely committed”.

Writing in this week’s Spectator, Ms Somers Cocks recalled being asked by Abu Dhabi in 2009 to create an Arab version of the Art Newspaper after France and the UAE agreed to create the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum.

Read more: telegraph.co.uk

Photo: telegraph.co.uk