Founding and early history The
Daily Telegraph and Courier was founded by Colonel
Arthur B. Sleigh in June 1855 to air a personal grievance against the future
commander-in-chief of the
British Army,
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge.
Joseph Moses Levy, the owner of
The Sunday Times, agreed to print the newspaper, and the first edition was published on 29 June 1855. The paper cost 2
d and was four pages long. Hunt laid out the newspaper's principles in a memorandum sent to Levy: "We should report all striking events in science, so told that the intelligent public can understand what has happened and can see its bearing on our daily life and our future. The same principle should apply to all other events—to fashion, to new inventions, to new methods of conducting business". premises, which were pictured in the
Illustrated London News. In 1876,
Jules Verne published his novel
Michael Strogoff, whose plot takes place during a fictional uprising and war in
Siberia. Verne included among the book's characters a war correspondent of
The Daily Telegraph, named Harry Blount—who is depicted as an exceptionally dedicated, resourceful and brave journalist, taking great personal risks to follow closely the ongoing war and bring accurate news of it to
The Telegraphs readership, ahead of competing papers.
1901 to 1945 In 1908,
The Daily Telegraph printed an article in the form of an interview with
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany that damaged
Anglo-German relations and added to international tensions in the build-up to
World War I. In 1928, the son of Baron Burnham,
Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson, 2nd Baron Burnham, sold the paper to
William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, in partnership with his brother
Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley and
Edward Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe. In 1937, the newspaper absorbed
The Morning Post, which traditionally espoused a conservative position and sold predominantly amongst the retired officer class. Originally William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, bought
The Morning Post with the intention of publishing it alongside
The Daily Telegraph, but poor sales of the former led him to merge the two. For some years, the paper was retitled
The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post before it reverted to just
The Daily Telegraph. In the late 1930s,
Victor Gordon Lennox,
The Telegraphs diplomatic editor, published an anti-
appeasement private newspaper
The Whitehall Letter that received much of its information from leaks from Sir
Robert Vansittart, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office, and
Rex Leeper, the Foreign Office's Press Secretary. As a result, Gordon Lennox was monitored by
MI5. In November 1940, Fleet Street, with its close proximity to the river and docklands, was subjected to almost daily bombing raids by the Luftwaffe and
The Telegraph started printing in Manchester at Kemsley House (now
The Printworks entertainment venue), which was run by Camrose's brother Kemsley. Manchester quite often printed the entire run of
The Telegraph when its Fleet Street offices were under threat. The name Kemsley House was changed to Thomson House in 1959. In 1986, printing of Northern editions of the
Daily and
Sunday Telegraph moved to Trafford Park and in 2008 to Newsprinters at Knowsley, Liverpool. During the
Second World War,
The Daily Telegraph covertly helped in the recruitment of code-breakers for
Bletchley Park. The ability to solve
The Telegraphs
crossword in under 12 minutes was considered to be a recruitment test. The newspaper was asked to organise a crossword competition, after which each of the successful participants was contacted and asked if they would be prepared to undertake "a particular type of work as a contribution to the war effort". The competition itself was won by F. H. W. Hawes of
Dagenham who finished the crossword in less than eight minutes.
1946 to 1985 Both the Camrose (Berry) and Burnham (Levy-Lawson) families remained involved in management until
Conrad Black took control in 1986. On the death of his father in 1954,
Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose assumed the chairmanship of the
Daily Telegraph with his brother
Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell as his editor-in-chief. During this period, the company saw the launch of sister paper
The Sunday Telegraph in 1960.
1986 to 2004 Canadian businessman
Conrad Black, through companies controlled by him, bought the Telegraph Group in 1986. Black, through his holding company
Ravelston Corporation, owned 78% of
Hollinger Inc. which in turn owned 30% of
Hollinger International. Hollinger International in turn owned the Telegraph Group and other publications such as the
Chicago Sun-Times, the
Jerusalem Post and
The Spectator. On 18 January 2004, Black was dismissed as
chairman of the
Hollinger International board over allegations of financial wrongdoing. Black was also sued by the company. Later that day, it was reported that the
Barclay brothers had agreed to purchase Black's 78% interest in
Hollinger Inc. for
£245m, giving them a controlling interest in the company, and to buy out the minority shareholders later. However, a lawsuit was filed by the Hollinger International board to try to block Black from selling his
shares in Hollinger Inc. until an investigation into his dealings was completed. Black filed a countersuit but, eventually, United States judge
Leo Strine sided with the Hollinger International board and blocked Black from selling his Hollinger Inc. shares to the twins. On 7 March 2004, the twins announced that they were launching another bid, this time just for
The Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister paper rather than all of Hollinger Inc. The then owner of the
Daily Express,
Richard Desmond, was also interested in purchasing the paper, selling his interest in several pornographic magazines to finance the initiative. Desmond withdrew in March 2004, when the price climbed above £600m, as did
Daily Mail and General Trust plc a few months later on 17 June.
Since 2004 In November 2004,
The Telegraph celebrated the tenth anniversary of its website,
Electronic Telegraph, now renamed
www.telegraph.co.uk. The
Electronic Telegraph launched in 1995 with The Daily Telegraph Guide to the Internet by writer Sue Schofield for an annual charge of £180.00. On 8 May 2006, the first stage of a major redesign of the website took place, with a wider page layout and greater prominence for audio, video and journalist blogs. On 10 October 2005,
The Daily Telegraph relaunched to incorporate a tabloid sports section and a new standalone business section.
The Daily Mails star columnist and political analyst
Simon Heffer left that paper in October 2005 to rejoin
The Daily Telegraph, where he has become associate editor. Heffer has written two columns a week for the paper since late October 2005 and is a regular contributor to the news podcast. In November 2005, the first regular podcast service by a newspaper in the UK was launched. Just before Christmas 2005, it was announced that
The Telegraph titles would be moving from Canada Place in
Canary Wharf, to new offices at Victoria Plaza at 111 Buckingham Palace Road near
Victoria Station in central London. The new office features a "hub and spoke" layout for the newsroom to produce content for print and online editions. In October 2006, with its relocation to Victoria, the company was renamed the Telegraph Media Group, repositioning itself as a multimedia company. On 2 September 2008, the
Daily Telegraph was printed with colour on each page for the first time when it left
Westferry for Newsprinters at
Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, another arm of the
Murdoch company. The paper is also printed in
Liverpool and
Glasgow by Newsprinters. In May 2009, the daily and Sunday editions published
details of MPs' expenses. This led to a number of high-profile resignations from both the ruling Labour administration and the Conservative opposition. In June 2014,
The Telegraph was criticised by
Private Eye for its policy of replacing experienced journalists and news managers with less-experienced staff and
search engine optimisers. On 26 October 2019, the
Financial Times reported that the Barclay Brothers were about to put the
Telegraph Media Group up for sale.
The Financial Times also reported that the
Daily Mail and General Trust (owner of the
Daily Mail,
The Mail on Sunday,
Metro and
Ireland on Sunday) would be interested in buying.
The Daily Telegraph supported
Liz Truss in the
July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. In July 2023, it was announced that Lloyds Banking Group had appointed Mike McTighe as chairman of Press Acquisitions Limited and May Corporation Limited in order to spearhead the sale of
The Telegraph and
The Spectator.
Accusation of news coverage influence by advertisers In July 2014, the
Daily Telegraph was criticised for carrying links on its website to pro-Kremlin articles supplied by a Russian state-funded publication that downplayed any Russian involvement in the downing of the passenger jet
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. These had featured on its website as part of a commercial deal, but were later removed. As of 2014, the paper was paid £900,000 a year to include the supplement
Russia Beyond the Headlines, a publication sponsored by the , the Russian government's official newspaper. In February 2015, the chief political commentator of the
Daily Telegraph,
Peter Oborne, resigned. Oborne accused the paper of a "form of fraud on its readers" for its coverage of the bank
HSBC in relation to a Swiss tax-dodging scandal that was widely covered by other news media. He alleged that editorial decisions about news content had been heavily influenced by the advertising arm of the newspaper because of commercial interests.
Jay Rosen at
New York University stated that Oborne's resignation statement was "one of the most important things a journalist has written about journalism lately".
Press Gazette reported later in 2015 that Oborne had joined the
Daily Mail tabloid newspaper and
The Telegraph had "issued new guidelines over the way editorial and commercial staff work together". In January 2017, the Telegraph Media Group had a higher number of upheld complaints than any other UK newspaper by its regulator
IPSO. Most of these findings pertained to inaccuracy, as with other UK newspapers. In October 2017, a number of major western news organisations whose coverage had irked Beijing were excluded from
Xi Jinping's speech event launching a new politburo. However, the
Daily Telegraph had been granted an invitation to the event. In April 2019,
Business Insider reported
The Telegraph had partnered with
Facebook to publish articles "downplaying 'technofears' and praising the company".
Premature obituaries The paper published
premature obituaries for Cockie Hoogterp, the second wife of
Baron Blixen,
Dave Swarbrick in 1999, In 2018,
Allister Heath, the editor of the
Sunday Telegraph wrote that "Cultural Marxism is running rampant." Assistant comment editor of the
Daily Telegraph Sherelle Jacobs also used the term in 2019.
The Daily Telegraph also published an anonymous civil servant who stated: "There is a strong presence of Anglophobia, combined with cultural Marxism that runs through the civil service."
False allegations of Islamic extremism In January 2019, the paper published an article written by
Camilla Tominey titled "Police called in after Scout group run from mosque is linked to Islamic extremist and Holocaust denier" in which it was reported that the police were investigating Ahammed Hussain, the Leader of the Scout Group at the Lewisham Islamic Centre, because he had links to extremist Muslim groups that promoted terrorism and antisemitism. In January 2020, the paper issued an official apology and accepted that the article contained many falsehoods, and that Hussain had never supported or promoted terrorism, or been antisemitic. The paper paid Hussain damages and costs. In a letter sent to Hussain's lawyers accompanying the text of their published apology, the newspaper's lawyers wrote: "The article was published by our client following receipt of information in good faith from the Scout Association and the
Henry Jackson Society; nevertheless our client now accepts that the article (using that expression to refer to both print and online versions) is defamatory of your client and will apologise to him for publishing it."
China Watch In 2016, the
Hong Kong Free Press reported that
The Daily Telegraph was receiving £750,000 annually to carry a supplement called 'China Watch' as part of a commercial deal with Chinese state-run newspaper
China Daily.
The Guardian reported in 2018 that the China Watch supplement was being carried by
The Telegraph along with other
newspapers of record such as
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and
Le Figaro. For a decade,
The Telegraph published the supplement once a month in print, and online. In April 2020, following criticism,
The Telegraph removed China Watch from its website, along with another advertisement feature section by Chinese state-run media outlet
People's Daily Online. The paper had run many pieces critical of China since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 misinformation In January 2021, the British press regulator, the
Independent Press Standards Organisation, ordered
The Daily Telegraph to publish a correction to two "significantly misleading" claims in a comment article published by
Toby Young. The July 2020 article "When we have herd immunity Boris will face a reckoning on this pointless and damaging lockdown," which spread
COVID-19 misinformation that the common cold provided "natural immunity" to
COVID-19 and that London was "probably approaching herd immunity". The regulator said that a correction was appropriate rather than a more serious response due to the level of scientific uncertainty at the time the comment was published. In 2014,
The Telegraph was one of several media titles to give evidence to the
House of Commons Select Committee 'Communicating climate science'. The paper told
MPs they believe climate change is happening and humans play a role in it. Editors told the committee, "we believe that the climate is changing, that the reason for that change includes human activity, but that human ingenuity and adaptability should not be ignored in favour of economically damaging prescriptions." In November 2023, the journalist and climate activist group
DeSmog published its judgements for coverage of environmental topics in 171 of
The Telegraph's opinion pieces from April to October 2023. DeSmog stated that of these 171 pieces, 85 per cent were categorised as "anti-green", defined as "attacking climate policy, questioning climate science and ridiculing environmental groups."
Owen Paterson The Daily Telegraph, in particular its columnist and former editor
Charles Moore, were staunch supporters of
Owen Paterson, a former MP and minister who resigned after it was found that he had breached advocacy rules to lobby ministers for fees. A plan to overhaul the
Commons standard and spare Paterson from being suspended and a possible recall petition that follows was leaked to the newspaper and it was "approvingly" splashed across the paper's front page. Boris Johnson flew back from the
COP 26 summit in Glasgow to attend a
Telegraph journalists' reunion at the
Garrick and left the club with Moore the same evening.
2023–2024 takeover bid In June 2023,
The Guardian and other newspapers reported that, following a breakdown in discussions relating to a financial dispute,
Lloyds Bank was planning to take control of the companies owning the
Telegraph titles and the
Spectator and sell them off. Representatives of the Barclay family have described the reports as "irresponsible". By 20 October, a sale of the publications had been initiated after bankers seized control. Lloyds appointed receivers and started shopping the brands to bidders. By November, it was revealed that the bid had been agreed upon by RedBird IMI, a joint venture between
RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments, a firm based in the
United Arab Emirates and owned by
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The bid would see the firm take over
The Telegraph, while allowing the Barclay family to repay a debt of £1.2 billion to Lloyds Bank. Conservative MPs raised national security concerns, and pushed the government to investigate the bid, as the United Arab Emirates had a poor reputation for
freedom of speech. Culture secretary
Lucy Frazer issued a public interest intervention notice on 30 November, preventing the group from taking over without further scrutiny from the media regulator
Ofcom over potential breaches of media standards. Conservative MPs also called on Deputy Prime Minister
Oliver Dowden to use the
National Security and Investment Act 2021 to investigate the Emirati-backed bid. Chairman
Andrew Neil threatened to quit if the sale was approved, saying: "You cannot have a major mainstream newspaper group owned by an undemocratic government or dictatorship where no one has a vote."
Fraser Nelson, editor of
The Spectator, which would be included in the sale, also opposed the move, saying, "the very reason why a foreign government would want to buy a sensitive asset is the very reason why a national government should be wary of selling them." In March 2024, the Lords voted in a new law, under which restrictions were imposed on foreign governments regarding the ownership of British newspapers and magazines, including only being allowed up to a 0.1 per cent stake. In April 2024, the UK government effectively banned RedBird IMI from taking over
The Telegraph and
The Spectator by introducing new laws which prevented foreign governments from owning British newspapers. RedBird also confirmed it would withdraw its takeover plans, saying they were "no longer feasible". In April 2024, RedBird IMI confirmed to put up
The Telegraph for sale again and to begin open auction. However, the Abu Dhabi fund suggested that it seek to recoup the £600 million it spent acquiring the newspaper, or will otherwise retain some involvement.
The Telegraph was left in limbo, as the staff remained blocked from taking strategic decisions. The owner of
The New York Sun,
Dovid Efune came up as a leading bidder, but struggled to take over the paper. The
Columbia Journalism Review dubbed it as "the newspaper auction from hell". In January 2025, David Castelblanco, a partner at the Abu Dhabi fund RedBird, urged
The Telegraph to make significant job cuts, including over 100 non-editorial roles. He also advised the executives to halt planned editorial investments, which included expansions of the US newsroom. The intervention was likely to raise concerns about foreign interference and fuels fears of foreign influence in the decision-making process of
The Telegraph. On 19 January,
Sir Iain Duncan Smith stated that the UAE should not be allowed to acquire the British newspaper. He also accused the UK government of "foot-dragging" the process due to fear of upsetting the Emirates, and asked for an explanation about the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Sir Ed Davey also called for the Cultural Secretary
Lisa Nandy to set a deadline for
The Telegraph's sale, and urged the ministers to ensure that the Abu Dhabi fund is "not improperly meddling in the meantime". In May 2025, Conservative MPs rebelled against their party's leadership to block
Lisa Nandy's proposal allowing the UAE to acquire up to 15% of
The Telegraph. This move came as RedBird Capital sought to lead a new consortium to acquire the newspaper.
Lord Forsyth accused Lisa Nandy of surrendering to lobbying, raising concerns over foreign state influence, a potential risk to press freedom and independent journalism. Despite the objections, the deal proceeded, and on 23 May, RedBird IMI agreed to acquire
The Telegraph for £500 million ($673 million). On 14 November 2025, RedBird dropped their bid to buy the papers due to negative media coverage related to the deal and regulatory scrutiny in the UK. A deal that was struck on 22 November 2025 would see its ownership transferred to
Daily Mail owner DMGT. ==Circulation==