- Minister told league he would talk to Saudis at ‘highest level’
- Evidence contradicts previous government statements
The government’s extensive efforts to facilitate the Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United have been further exposed by documents showing that a minister promised the Premier League he would secure a response to a proposed “way forward” from “the highest levels of the Saudi government”.
Lord Gerry Grimstone, then minister for investment, asked the then Premier League chairman Gary Hoffman in August 2020 to share the league’s legal advice on “a way forward” for the stalled takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the documents reveal.
