Sunday Express facing meltdown, says staffer

Mark Shenton accused of bringing paper into disrepute

Sunday Express headline yesterday: IMMIGRANTS: ENOUGH, SAY MPs. Memo to editor Martin Townsend, who urges people to think poor in his latest column, time to "think tolerance" by curbing the prejudicial headlines and stories.

I note that the Sunday Express took another sales nose dive last month to record an average weekly sale of just 673,840. Could the continuing circulation slide have anything to do with the readers' dislike of its scandalous Madeleine McCann coverage? Possibly. Or has it more to do with the whimsical, but pointless, columns by the paper's editor, Martin Townsend ? Also possible. But I believe it has more to do with the growing distaste for its owner, Richard Desmond. In true Maxwellian form a sweaty picture of Dirty Des appeared in this week's issue (arm around Lulu, poor her) at a charity function arranged by, of course, Desmond himself. Expect another sales drop this month.