Torin Douglas: Desmond gets go-ahead to arrange the deckchairs

I hope Richard Desmond believes he’s getting good value from his subscription to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). Britain’s newest newspaper baron is going through the books at Express Newspapers, querying every last penny, and last week’s extravagant PCC party at Somerset House will have cost publishers more than a bob or two.

Given that the PCC is normally a pretty abstemious body, it was strange to find it hosting what was billed as the “party of the year”. The celebs may not have been “A” list but the Royals were there. Not just Prince William and the Prince of Wales, but Camilla too – the first time she and William had attended the same public event. It was a coming-together imbued with such deep significance that it made virtually every newspaper’s front page the following morning.

From where I was standing, Desmond seemed to be enjoying the party – but then it was a very OK! sort of event – though Hello!’s bosses were chortling that its timing favoured their deadlines over his. The celebs were mainly TV stars and the latest “society girl” Lady Victoria Hervey, displaying almost as much flesh as she had in that morning’s Sun.

Whether Desmond would have thought it represented a good return on his investment in the PCC is another matter. I’m told he even needed persuading that joining the Newspaper Publishers Association was necessary. Its agency-recognition system clinched the matter, as it provides a demonstrable financial benefit.

But how might Desmond – and, indeed, his fellow proprietors – quantify the benefit of the PCC’s lavish entertainment last week?

Certainly the press has much to celebrate, ten years after its sojourn in the last chance saloon – not least a message of support from Tony Blair. Where once there were threats of new laws to protect privacy and order a right of reply, the Prime Minister praised the PCC’s attempts to balance the freedom of the press with the interests of those who find themselves in the news. Such threats that remain come from Europe rather than this country.

Did that justify the watchdog inviting more than 500 stars and ordinary members of the public, plus sundry media types, in the elegant surroundings of one of London’s most beautifully restored palaces? Can you imagine the Independent Television Commission or the Broadcasting Standards Commission or the Radio Authority hosting such a bash?

No, they wouldn’t dare, particularly at this moment. These are – or would like to be seen as – slimmed-down, businesslike and accountable organisations, gearing themselves up to be subsumed in the almighty Ofcom. But they are also statutory bodies that pronounce on the suitability – or otherwise – of broadcasters and programmes. The ITC and Radio Authority decide whether or not the public interest is likely to be served by a particular media owner taking over another company.

It so happens that, last week, Desmond cleared his own public-interest hurdle, when the trade secretary Stephen Byers put up no objection to Northern & Shell’s takeover of Express Newspapers. Unlike his fellow soft-porn publisher David Sullivan, who was prevented from taking over a Bristol newspaper group because he was deemed “unsuitable”, Desmond was told that his other publishing interests were regarded as irrelevant.

Sullivan had links with the Express group, when his Sunday Sport was briefly – and disastrously – merged with the Daily Star, prompting the Star’s advertisers to run a mile and thousands of readers to desert. Something similar seems to be happening to the Express, if the latest circulation figures are any guide.

Desmond is trying to keep his new newspapers entirely separate from his old publishing interests – to the extent of putting Asian Babes and the rest of the stable up for sale. However, his reputation has hit the Express titles hard – though not, ironically, the Star’s, which has seen its sales figures rise.

The Daily Express has fallen below 1 million copies, for the first time in 75 years, while the Sunday Express is down too. By contrast, the rival Mail titles – which brazenly wrote to Express buyers, alerting them to Desmond’s publishing background (in case they had not already got the message) are up.

At the weekend, they kept up the pressure: “Welcome to our new readers. Sales of the Mail on Sunday have gone up by an astonishing five per cent in the two months since the pornographer Richard Desmond took over the Sunday Express….. Discerning readers clearly share the views of the team of Express star writers who have found a welcome new home at the Mail on Sunday.”

The Express exodus is likely to accelerate, but unlike columnist Peter Hitchens and others who’ve walked, those about to depart are not expected to go voluntarily. The DTI decision clears the way for Desmond to go ahead with plans to cut the newspapers’ staff.

Until now, the job losses have been confined to offshoots such as the online division – thanks partly to the reluctance of the former Express editor, Rosie Boycott, to discuss further cuts. Had the new owner removed more people before getting DTI clearance, the unions and some MPs might have called for an inquiry into the takeover. Now journalists are braced for the loss of up to 200 jobs.

Torin Douglas is media correspondent for BBC News