Johnston Press wants public interest clause dropped

Tim Bowdler, the chief executive of Johnston Press, the publisher of the Yorkshire Post and dozens of other local papers, insisted the Government must relax its powers to intervene in newspaper takeovers.

He said the "exceptional public interest" clause contained in the Communications Bill, now passing through Parliament, is unnecessary. It allows ministers to intervene in proposed acquisitions, in order to protect editorial independence. Such a clause only applies to newspapers and the defence industry.

He said newspaper owners wanted a "level playing field" with other industries and that competition law alone ought to be applied to newspaper deals but, if the Government is determined to keep the power, at least smaller deals should be excluded. Mr Bowdler has lobbied the Department of Trade and Industry for local weekly titles to be exempted from the rule.

"We need a degree of certainty when we look at potential acquisitions.... We want to see a loosening of the special interest test," Mr Bowdler, who is also president of the Newspaper Society, said.

In 1990, similar powers were used to block an attempt by David Sullivan, a publisher of pornography, from buying the Bristol Evening Post, a daily newspaper. It is thought that despite depoliticising merger decisions in other sectors, ministers want to be able to block pornographers, political extremists and other "undesirables" from buying newspapers.

Mr Bowdler's comments accompanied an upbeat trading statement from Johnston, which reported 2.8 per cent growth in advertising revenues for continuing businesses in the five months to 30 November, up from 1.2 per cent in the first half.

The company said the market should expect full-year 2002 profits to come in at the top end of City expectations, pointing to a figure of about £97m.