London freesheets face West End ban

Rival London freesheets London Lite and thelondonpaper face being banned from the West End over a row with the local council about contributing to its recycling scheme. It is understood the council has given Associated Newspapers and News International just weeks to find a solution.

Westminster Council has warned the publishers that it will ban the free afternoon newspapers if they fail to come up with a solution to contribute to the £500,000 recycling costs of discarded newspapers.

The pair have been in negotiations with the council since January and Westminster is understood to be close to making a decision. The council says that free newspapers are responsible for around 25% of all waste collected in the area.

London Lite distributes in excess of 400,000 copies every day while thelondonpaper distributes more than 500,000.