To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether (a) he and (b) the Office of Fair Trading plans to make an assessment of the implications for the regulatory matters for which each is responsible of the change in ownership of the London Evening Standard. (250941)

We understand the Office of Fair Trading does not propose to examine this transaction on competition grounds. My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to issue an intervention notice to require an investigation on public interest grounds. There is no indication that the purchase may be expected to result in inaccurate presentation of news or a loss of plurality of views in newspapers.