Former member of The Scott Trust Mike Unger has said it is “nonsense” to suggest The Observer was intended to have the same protections as The Guardian.

Former Manchester Evening News editor Unger sat on The Scott Trust from 1985 to 1997 and was present when the decision was made for the body to buy The Observer in 1993. The Scott Trust has owned The Guardian since 1936 and is also the owner of Guardian Media Group [GMG].

He spoke to Press Gazette as controversy rages around Tortoise Media’s bid to buy The Observer from GMG. No purchase price has been discussed publicly so far, but Tortoise has pledged to invest £25m into the Observer.