The Daily Telegraph
Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh launched The Daily Telegraph and Courier in June 1855 to air a personal grievance against Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. The first edition appeared on the 29th of June 1855 at a cost of 2d and contained four pages. Joseph Moses Levy agreed to print the newspaper but soon took over after Sleigh could not pay the printing bill. Levy aimed to produce a cheaper paper than competitors like The Morning Post to expand the market. He appointed his son Edward Levy-Lawson and Thornton Leigh Hunt as editors. Lord Burnham relaunched the paper with the slogan "the largest, best, and cheapest newspaper in the world". Hunt laid out principles stating that all striking events should be reported so intelligent public understanding is possible. In 1876 Jules Verne published Michael Strogoff featuring a war correspondent named Harry Blount from The Daily Telegraph. This character was depicted as exceptionally dedicated and brave while following ongoing wars. The paper moved to new Fleet Street premises in 1882 which were pictured in the Illustrated London News.
Clare Hollingworth provided an eyewitness account of the outbreak of the Second World War described as "the scoop of the century". She published her report in 1939 claiming Germany would invade Poland. The paper won British Newspaper of the Year in 2009 for its coverage of the parliamentary expenses scandal. This investigation led to numerous high-profile political resignations from both Labour and Conservative parties. Reporters posed as businessmen to film England manager Sam Allardyce offering advice on FA rules in September 2016. Allardyce left his job by mutual consent after the investigation concluded on the 27th of September. The Lockdown Files emerged in 2023 as another major undercover investigation. A secret recording of Business Secretary Vince Cable appeared in December 2010 regarding Rupert Murdoch's takeover bid. Cable stated he had declared war on Mr Murdoch and believed they would win. The Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint about this subterfuge in May 2011. William Lewis won Journalist of the Year for his role in the 2009 expenses story. The paper also won Team of the Year in 2004 for Iraq War coverage.
Conrad Black bought the Telegraph Group through companies controlled by him in 1986. He owned 78% of Hollinger Inc which held 30% of Hollinger International. Black was dismissed as chairman over allegations of financial wrongdoing on the 18th of January 2004. The Barclay brothers agreed to purchase Black's interest for £245 million later that day. Richard Desmond withdrew from bidding when prices climbed above £600m in March 2004. Lloyds Banking Group appointed Mike McTighe as chairman in July 2023 to spearhead the sale. RedBird IMI agreed to acquire The Telegraph for £500 million in May 2025. This deal collapsed in November 2025 due to negative media coverage. Conservative MPs raised national security concerns regarding the United Arab Emirates ownership. Culture secretary Lucy Frazer issued a public interest intervention notice on the 30th of November. The UK government effectively banned RedBird IMI from taking over in April 2024. A new law restricted foreign governments from owning British newspapers to 0.1 per cent stake. David Castelblanco urged job cuts including over 100 non-editorial roles in January 2025. Sir Iain Duncan Smith stated the UAE should not be allowed to acquire the newspaper.
The paper supported Whig and Liberal Party ideas before the late 1870s. It has endorsed the Conservative Party at every UK general election since 1945. The personal links between editors and Conservative leadership led to the nickname Torygraph. Sir David Barclay suggested the paper might no longer be the house newspaper of Conservatives after purchasing it in June 2004. The editorial board endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2005 general election. The paper supported the Better Together No Campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It endorsed voting to leave the EU in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. The Telegraph fined £30,000 in December 2015 for sending unsolicited emails urging votes for Conservatives. Former columnist Graham Norton said the paper took a turn about a year before leaving in late 2018. He criticized toxic political stances defending Brett Kavanaugh and acting as a mouthpiece for Boris Johnson. The paper published an article by Allison Pearson arguing that asking NHS patients their sexual orientation was unnecessary in 2018. Two members of Trans Kids Deserve Better climbed the office building in 2025 to protest media coverage.
Guardian columnist Owen Jones criticized editors for publishing articles espousing Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory. Allister Heath wrote that Cultural Marxism is running rampant in 2018 while Sherelle Jacobs used the term in 2019. The paper paid damages to Ahammed Hussain after issuing an official apology in January 2020. An article claimed Hussain had links to extremist Muslim groups but police found no evidence. The Independent Press Standards Organisation ordered a correction regarding misleading claims about COVID-19 in January 2021. Toby Young's July 2020 comment spread misinformation claiming common cold provided natural immunity. DeSmog published judgments showing 85 per cent of opinion pieces from April to October 2023 were anti-green. The Telegraph received £750,000 annually to carry China Watch supplement starting in 2016. It removed this supplement along with People's Daily Online content in April 2020. Business Insider reported a partnership with Facebook to publish articles downplaying technofears in April 2019. The paper was fined £30,000 for sending unsolicited emails urging votes for Conservatives in December 2015.
Electronic Telegraph launched at midday on the 15th of November 1994 as Europe's first daily web-based newspaper. Ben Rooney served as its first editor while the site hosted on a Sun Microsystems Sparc 20 server. Only around 1% of British population had internet access at home compared to more than 80% by 2009. As few as 10,000 websites existed when the site launched versus more than 100 billion by 2009. Articles by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard brought a large American audience to the site initially. The Clinton administration issued a 331-page report accusing Evans-Pritchard of peddling right-wing inventions in 1997. International customers had to sign up for subscription packages starting in November 2012. Visitors accessed 20 free articles monthly before needing unlimited subscriptions from March 2013. The site became most popular UK newspaper website in April 2008 before being overtaken by Mail Online. It ranked tenth most visited UK newspaper site with 13.8 million monthly visits in October 2023. The paper reported 1,035,710 subscribers in December 2023 including digital and print editions.
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Common questions
When was The Daily Telegraph launched and by whom?
Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh launched The Daily Telegraph and Courier in June 1855 to air a personal grievance against Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. The first edition appeared on the 29th of June 1855 at a cost of 2d and contained four pages.
What major investigative stories did The Daily Telegraph win awards for?
The paper won British Newspaper of the Year in 2009 for its coverage of the parliamentary expenses scandal which led to numerous high-profile political resignations from both Labour and Conservative parties. Reporters posed as businessmen to film England manager Sam Allardyce offering advice on FA rules in September 2016 before he left his job by mutual consent after the investigation concluded on the 27th of September.
Who owns The Daily Telegraph and what happened with recent acquisition attempts?
RedBird IMI agreed to acquire The Telegraph for £500 million in May 2025 but this deal collapsed in November 2025 due to negative media coverage. The UK government effectively banned RedBird IMI from taking over in April 2024 after Culture secretary Lucy Frazer issued a public interest intervention notice on the 30th of November.
How has The Daily Telegraph supported political parties historically?
The paper supported Whig and Liberal Party ideas before the late 1870s and has endorsed the Conservative Party at every UK general election since 1945. It endorsed voting to leave the EU in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and supported the Better Together No Campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
When did Electronic Telegraph launch and how many subscribers does it have now?
Electronic Telegraph launched at midday on the 15th of November 1994 as Europe's first daily web-based newspaper. The paper reported 1,035,710 subscribers in December 2023 including digital and print editions.