An investigation into the proposed £500m takeover of the Telegraph by the owners of the Daily Mail has been ordered by the government on public interest and competition grounds.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she had launched the probe over concerns the deal could affect the "plurality of views" in the UK media.

Competition issues will be assessed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), while media regulator Ofcom will look at the public interest impact, Nandy said.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) said it would work with regulators to secure completion of the deal.

It added that the deal would provide "stability and certainty" to the Telegraph group in a rapidly changing industry.

DMGT, whose titles also include the i Paper, the New Scientist and Metro, agreed to buy the Telegraph in November after years of uncertainty over the paper's future owner.

DMGT said: "We remain committed to investing in The Telegraph and its journalists, preserving its distinctive editorial voice and team, and accelerating its global expansion, with a focus on the US."

In issuing the probe into the deal, Nandy said: "The public interest considerations concerned are the need for a sufficient plurality of views in each UK market for news media; and, the need for a sufficient plurality of persons with control of media enterprises serving every different UK audience."

She said she had asked the CMA and Ofcom to report back to the government by 10 June.

The intervention is the latest twist in ongoing sale of the Telegraph Media Group (TMG). 

The media group went up for sale in 2023 due to debts owed by the previous owners, the Barclay brothers.

In December that year, a consortium tried to buy TMG but its attempts were rebuffed by UK politicians over foreign ownership concerns because it was backed by the Abu Dhabi ruling family.

Several attempts to buy the group since have fallen through. The bid from DMGT was agreed to in November last year.

DMGT said the backdrop of a changing media landscape "requires publishers with the resources and experience to compete".