The ABCs

Richard Desmond won't be happy. Newstrade sales of the Daily Express were down to 793,538 in May, 5.6 per cent less than last year and the title's lowest figure in recent times. Weary and wounded from its battle with the mighty Daily Mail, Peter Hill's Crusader posted a headline ABC (including bulk and foreign sales) of 898,396, down 4.3 per cent on a year earlier.

At least Mr Desmond might take comfort from the fact that the Mail itself is making little headway, down by 0.9 per cent on its April figure and 2.7 per cent on 12 months ago.

The biggest winner in May was Richard Wallace's Mirror, which after months of misery saw a circulation lift of 3.5 per cent, though the title is still 3.6 per cent down on 2004.

The quality sector remained stable, with The Times,The Independent and the Daily Telegraph all posting year-on-year increases. The Guardian was up by 1.4 per cent on the month, partly helped by a River Café cookbook promotion, but down 4.3 per cent on the same period last year. The biggest loser of the quality titles was theSunday Telegraph, which returned its lowest ABC since April 1996, 666,031. Dominic Lawson, who is said to have hopes of becoming editor of the Daily Telegraph, has presided over a 5.9 per cent fall in sales since May 2004.