Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has used powers under the Enterprise Act to intervene in BT Group’s acquisition of TalkTalk, warning that any sudden failure of the provider’s phone and broadband services could put lives, public services and vulnerable customers at risk.
Nandy issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice on Monday after BT reached a deal to buy TalkTalk, which had been looking for a buyer for its consumer and wholesale businesses following a period of financial difficulty.
The Government said an extensive open bidding process had failed to produce an agreement for the whole of the business before BT stepped in.
Nandy: ‘There is a genuine risk to life’
“Phone and broadband services are vital national infrastructure. If TalkTalk services fail, there is a genuine risk to life and public services – including to hospitals, schools and emergency care,” Nandy said.
“These are unprecedented circumstances that require action now.”
TalkTalk’s networks carry services that people and public bodies rely on every day, including calls to the emergency services, ambulance and hospital communications and medical alarms, as well as connections used by businesses across the country.
What happens next
The notice does not block the deal. Instead, it allows the Secretary of State to weigh the wider public interest once the Competition and Markets Authority has reported on competition concerns. The CMA has been asked to report back by 19 October.
Nandy is relying on the existing public interest ground covering the ability to deal with public health emergencies, and on a new ground covering the continuity of telecoms services to public services, critical national infrastructure and vulnerable customers. Ministers will urgently lay an Order before Parliament adding that ground to the Enterprise Act.
TalkTalk customers do not need to take any action, and services should continue as normal while the acquisition is taken forward.
For Labour, the intervention shows ministers are prepared to use the powers they have when a commercial deal touches services that millions of households and businesses depend on.
