Who really funds the Jewish Chronicle? Why it’s troubling that we don’t know…

Four years ago, a mysterious consortium came to the rescue of the beleaguered publication – and apart from being led by Sir Robbie Gibb, a government-appointed BBC director, nobody is really clear about who else is behind the scenes. But openness matters, says Alan Rusbridger, especially when politics is involved

Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former spin doctor, led a consortium that rescued the Jewish Chronicle from liquidation (Getty Images)

MPs, peers and journalists recently got very excited over who should be allowed to own a newspaper in the UK. The Daily Telegraph, for the moment, seems safe from falling into the officially designated wrong hands. But what happens if we aren’t sure who is behind the owner of a newspaper – when the ultimate funder of a respected UK media company is a closely guarded secret? 

This is not a hypothetical question. Almost no one has any idea who currently funds The Jewish Chronicle, which is both the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world and the most influential paper serving the Jewish community in Britain.

The paper was founded in 1841, and for 180-odd years its proprietors have been a matter of public record. But that changed fours years ago, when a mysterious consortium swooped in to rescue the title from threatened liquidation. It was, according to the outgoing chair, Alan Jacobs, “a shameful attempt to hijack” the paper.