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The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
middle-market newspaper A middle-market newspaper is a newspaper that caters to readers who like entertainment as well as the coverage of important news events. Middle-market status is the halfway point of a three-level continuum of journalistic seriousness; upper-marke ...
printed in
tabloid format A tabloid is a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet. There is no standard size for this newspaper format. Etymology The word ''tabloid'' comes from the name given by the London-based pharmaceutical company Burroughs We ...
. Published in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet in 1900 by
Sir Arthur Pearson ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
. Its sister paper, the ''Sunday Express'', was launched in 1918. In June 2022, it had an average daily circulation of 201,608. The paper rose to become the largest circulation newspaper in the world under Lord Beaverbrook, going from 2 million in the 1930s to 4 million in the 1940s. It was acquired by
Richard Desmond Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman and former pornographer. According to the 2021 '' Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the founder of Nor ...
's company Northern & Shell in 2000.
Hugh Whittow Hugh Whittow is a British former newspaper editor. Whittow worked for the ''Western Telegraph'' and the ''South Wales Echo'', before moving to London to work on the '' London Evening News'', and then the '' Daily Star''. In the mid-1980s, he j ...
was the editor from February 2011 until he retired in March 2018. In February 2018 Trinity Mirror acquired the ''Daily Express'', and other publishing assets of Northern & Shell, in a deal worth £126.7 million. To coincide with the purchase the Trinity Mirror group changed the name of the company to ''Reach''. Hugh Whittow resigned as editor and Gary Jones took over as editor-in-chief soon after the purchase. The paper's editorial stances have often been seen as aligned to
Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
and supportive of the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
(UKIP), and other right-wing factions including the
European Research Group The European Research Group (ERG) is a research support group and caucus of Eurosceptic Conservative Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The journalist Sebastian Payne described it in the ''Financial Times'' as "the most influential ese ...
(ERG) of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
.


History

The ''Daily Express'' was founded in 1900 by
Sir Arthur Pearson ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
, with the first issue appearing on 24 April 1900. Pearson, who had lost his sight to
glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...
in 1913, sold the title to the future Lord Beaverbrook in 1916. It was one of the first papers to place news instead of advertisements on its front page, and carried gossip, sport, and women's features. It was also the first in Britain to have a
crossword puzzle A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...
. The ''Express'' began printing in Manchester in 1927. In 1931 it moved its London headquarters to 120 Fleet Street, a specially commissioned
art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
building. Under Beaverbrook, the paper set newspaper sales records several times throughout the 1930s. Its success was partly due to aggressive marketing campaign and a circulation war with other populist newspapers. Arthur Christiansen became editor in October 1933. Under his direction sales climbed from two million in 1936 to four million in 1949. He retired in 1957. The paper also featured
Alfred Bestall Alfred Edmeades "Fred" Bestall, MBE (14 December 1892 – 15 January 1986) wrote and illustrated ''Rupert Bear'' for the London ''Daily Express'', from 1935 to 1965. Biography Early life Bestall was born in Mandalay, Burma in 1892, where his p ...
's ''
Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival ''D ...
'' cartoon and satirical cartoons by
Carl Giles Ronald "Carl" Giles OBE (29 September 1916 – 27 August 1995), often referred to simply as Giles, was a cartoonist who worked for the British newspaper the '' Daily Express''. His cartoon style was a single topical highly detailed panel, usu ...
which it began publishing in the 1940s. On 24 March 1933, a front-page headline, "Judea Declares War on Germany" (because of the
Anti-Nazi boycott of 1933 The anti-Nazi boycott was an international boycott of German products in response to violence and harassment by members of Hitler's Nazi Party against Jews following his appointment as Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Examples of Nazi ...
), was published. During the late 1930s, the paper advocated the appeasement policies of the Neville Chamberlain's National Government, due to the influence of Lord Beaverbrook. On 7 August 1939, the front-page headline was "NO WAR THIS YEAR". Less than a month later, Britain and France were at war with
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
following its
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
. The front page, floating in dirty water, later featured in '' In Which We Serve''. The ruralist and fascist author
Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history and ruralism. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book ''Tarka ...
wrote for the paper on many occasions for half a century, practically the whole of his career. He also wrote for the ''Sunday Express'' at the beginning of his career. In 1938, the publication moved to the
Daily Express Building, Manchester The Daily Express Building, located on Great Ancoats Street, Manchester, England, is a Grade II* listed building which was designed by engineer Sir Owen Williams. It was built in 1939 to house one of three '' Daily Express'' offices; the other ...
(nicknamed the "Black Lubyianka"), designed by Owen Williams on the same site in
Great Ancoats Street Great Ancoats Street is a street in the inner suburb of Ancoats, Manchester, England. A number of cotton mills built in the early and mid-Victorian period are nearby, some of which have been converted into residential or office buildings, such ...
. It opened a similar building in Glasgow in 1936 in Albion Street. Glasgow printing ended in 1974 and Manchester in 1989 on the company's own presses. Johnston Press has a five-year deal, begun in March 2015, to print the northern editions of the ''Daily Express'', ''Daily Star'', ''Sunday Express'' and the ''Daily Star Sunday'' at its Dinnington site in Sheffield. The Scottish edition is printed by facsimile in Glasgow by contract printers, the London editions at Westferry Printers. In March 1962, Beaverbrook was attacked in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
for running "a sustained vendetta" against the British Royal Family in the ''Express'' titles. In the same month, the Duke of Edinburgh described the ''Express'' as "a bloody awful newspaper. It is full of lies, scandal and imagination. It is a vicious paper." At the height of Beaverbrook's control, in 1948, he told a Royal Commission on the press that he ran his papers "purely for the purpose of making propaganda". The arrival of
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, and the public's changing interests, took their toll on circulation, and following Beaverbrook's death in 1964, the paper's circulation declined for several years. During this period, the ''Express'', practically alone among mainstream newspapers, was vehemently opposed to
entry Entry may refer to: *Entry, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States *Entry (cards), a term used in trick-taking card-games *Entry (economics), a term in connection with markets *Entry (film), ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian ...
into what became the European Economic Community. Partially as a result of the rejuvenation of the '' Daily Mail'' under David English and the emergence of '' The Sun'' under
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
and editorship of
Larry Lamb Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy series '' Gavin & Stacey'' and Ted Case in the final series ...
, average daily sales of the ''Express'' dropped below four million in 1967, below three million in 1975, and below two million in 1984. The ''Daily Express'' switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 (the ''Mail'' having done so six years earlier), and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers. In 1982, Trafalgar House spun off its publishing interests to a new company, Fleet Holdings, under Lord Matthews, but this succumbed to a hostile takeover by
United Newspapers UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a multinational media company. Its main focus was on B2B events, but its pr ...
in 1985. Under United, the ''Express'' titles moved from Fleet Street to Blackfriars Road in 1989. Express Newspapers was sold to publisher
Richard Desmond Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman and former pornographer. According to the 2021 '' Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the founder of Nor ...
in 2000, and the names of the newspapers reverted to ''Daily Express'' and ''Sunday Express''. In 2004, the newspaper moved to its present location on Lower Thames Street in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
. On 31 October 2005, UK Media Group
Entertainment Rights Entertainment Rights PLC (formally known as Sleepy Kids) was a British multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that specialized in TV-shows and cartoons, children’s media, films, and distribution. In May 2009, the company was ...
secured majority interest from the ''Daily Express'' for
Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival ''D ...
. They paid £6 million for a 66.6% control of the character. The ''Express'' retains minority interest of one-third plus the right to publish Rupert Bear stories in certain Express publications.


Richard Desmond era

In 2000, Express Newspapers was bought by Richard Desmond, publisher of celebrity magazine '' OK!'', for £125 million. Controversy surrounded the deal since Desmond also owned
softcore pornography Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. So ...
magazines. As a result, many staff left, including editor
Rosie Boycott Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist and feminist. Early life The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born in Saint Helier, Jersey. S ...
and columnist
Peter Hitchens Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951) is an English author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for '' The Mail on Sunday'' and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Peter Hitchens ...
. Hitchens moved to ''
The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...
'', saying working for the new owner was a moral conflict of interest since he had always attacked the pornographic magazines that Desmond published. Despite their divergent politics, Desmond respected Hitchens. In 2007, Express Newspapers left the National Publishers Association due to unpaid fees. Since payments to the NPA fund the
Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...
, it is possible that the ''Express'' and its sister papers could cease being regulated by the PCC. The chairman of the
Press Standards Board of Finance The Press Standards Board of Finance (Pressbof) was set up by the Press Council to raise a levy on the newspaper and periodical industries to finance the Council, which had previously been funded directly by newspaper proprietors. Pressbof later fu ...
, which manages PCC funds, described Express Newspapers as a "rogue publisher". The Express group lost prominent libel cases in 2008–2009; it paid damages to people involved in the
Madeleine McCann Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person who disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007, at the age of 3. ''The Daily Telegraph'' described the disappeara ...
case (see below), a member of the
Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a national umbrella body with over 500 mosques and educational and charitable associations affiliated to it. It includes national, regional, local, and specialist Muslim organisations and institutions fro ...
, footballer
Marco Materazzi Marco Materazzi (; born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two p ...
, and sports agent
Willie McKay Willie McKay is a British football agent, based in Monaco. He was the agent of many top-level footballers, mainly based in England and France, specifically the Premier League His clients include James McFadden, Joey Barton Joseph Anthon ...
. The losses led the media commentator
Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...
to conclude that Express Newspapers (which also publishes the ''Star'' titles) paid more in libel damages over that period than any other newspaper group. Although most of the individual amounts paid were not disclosed, the total damages were recorded at £1,570,000. Greenslade characterised Desmond as a "rogue proprietor". In late 2008, Express Newspapers began cutting 80 jobs to reduce costs by £2.5 million; however, too few staff were willing to take voluntary redundancy. In early 2008, a previous cost-cutting exercise triggered the first 24-hour national press strike in the UK for 18 years. In late August 2009 came plans for a further 70 redundancies, affecting journalists across Express Newspapers (including the ''Daily'' and ''Sunday Express'', the ''Daily Star'', and the ''Daily Star Sunday''). In August 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised the company for
advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed publications, t ...
s as features alongside adverts for the same products. The ASA noted that the pieces were "always and uniquely favourable to the product featured in the ads and contained claims that have been or were likely to be prohibited in advertisements". In January 2010, the ''Daily Express'' was censured by the Advertising Standards Authority over a front-page promotion for "free" fireworks. This led to comment that the ''Express'' has become "the Ryanair of Fleet Street", in that it is a "frequent offender" which pays little heed to the ASA's criticisms. In May 2010, Desmond announced a commitment of £100 million over five years to buy new equipment for the printing plants, beginning with the immediate purchase of four new presses, amid industry rumours that he was going to establish a printing plant at Luton. On 31 December 2010, the Express, with all the media titles in Desmond's Northern & Shell group, were excluded from the
Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...
after withholding payment. Lord Black, chairman of PressBof, the PCC's parent organisation, called this "a deeply regrettable decision". According to ''Press Gazette'', in December 2016 circulation figures showed gross sales of the '' Daily Mail'' were 1,491,264 compared to 391,626 for the ''Daily Express''. The full run of the ''Daily Express'' has been digitised and is available at UK Press Online. In September 2017, ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' publisher Trinity Mirror announced its interest in buying all of Express Newspapers from Desmond. The ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'' called it potentially the biggest change in the British newspaper industry for a decade.


Reach era

In February 2018, Trinity Mirror acquired the ''Daily Express'', and other publishing assets of Northern & Shell, in a deal worth £126.7 million. To coincide with the purchase the Trinity Mirror group changed its name to ''Reach''. Hugh Whittow resigned as editor and Gary Jones took over as editor-in-chief soon after the purchase. The ''Daily Express'' endorsed
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...
in the
July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party after a series of political controversies. The leadership ele ...
.


''Sunday Express''

The printing press of the ''Sunday Express'' was first started by
Lady Diana Manners Diana, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she moved in a celebrat ...
on 29 December 1918. It is edited by Michael Booker. Its circulation in February 2019 was 272,259.


Controversies


John Bodkin Adams

Suspected
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Dr John Bodkin Adams was arrested in 1956, accused of murdering up to 400 wealthy patients in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, England. The press, "egged on by police leaks, unanimously declared Adams guilty," except for
Percy Hoskins Percy Kellick Hoskins (28 December 1904 – 5 February 1989) was the chief crime reporter for the British newspaper the ''Daily Express'' in the 1950s. He also provided stories for radio and television crime shows, such as ''Whitehall 1212''. Ho ...
, chief crime reporter for the ''Express''.''Two Men Were Acquitted: The trial and acquittal of Doctor John Bodkin Adams'', Secker & Warburg, 1984 Hoskins was adamant that Adams was a naive doctor prosecuted by an overzealous detective,
Herbert Hannam Herbert Wheeler Walter Hannam (1908 – 24 February 1983) was a British policeman within the Metropolitan Police Service. He was based at Scotland Yard where he held the rank of Detective Superintendent. Family Hannam was born in Paddington, Londo ...
, whom Hoskins disliked from previous cases. The ''Express'', under Hoskins's direction, was the only major paper to defend Adams, causing Lord Beaverbrook to question Hoskins's stance. Adams was cleared in 1957 of the murder of
Edith Alice Morrell Edith Alice Morrell (20 June 1869 – 13 November 1950) was a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, and patient of Dr John Bodkin Adams. Although Adams was acquitted in 1957 of her murder, the question of Adams' role in Morrell's death ...
(a second count was withdrawn controversially). After the case, Beaverbrook phoned Hoskins and said: "Two people were acquitted today", meaning Hoskins as well. The ''Express'' carried an exclusive interview with Adams, whom Hoskins interviewed in a safe house away from other newspapers. According to archives released in 2003, Adams was thought by police to have killed 163 patients.


Dunblane

On 8 March 2009, the Scottish edition of the ''Sunday Express'' published a front-page article critical of survivors of the 1996
Dunblane massacre The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, and injured 15 others, before killing himself. It remains the deadlie ...
, entitled "Anniversary Shame of Dunblane Survivors". The article criticised the 18-year-old survivors for posting "shocking blogs and photographs of themselves on the internet", revealing that they drank alcohol, made rude gestures and talked about their sex lives. The article provoked complaints, leading to a front-page apology a
fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days," since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is ha ...
later. The
Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...
described the article as a "serious error of judgement" and said, "Although the editor had taken steps to resolve the complaint, and rightly published an apology, the breach of the Code was so serious that no apology could remedy it".


Diana, Princess of Wales

The ''Daily Express'' gained a reputation for printing
conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales Various conspiracy theories have arisen surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Official investigations in both Britain and France found that Diana died in a manner consistent with media reports following the fatal car crash i ...
as front-page news. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 2006 both published a selection of then recent ''Express'' headlines on the topic. This practice was satirised in '' Private Eye'' as the ''Diana Express'' or the ''Di'ly Express'', and has been attributed to Desmond's friendship with regular ''Eye'' target Mohamed Fayed.For instance in the "Hackwatch" column of ''Private Eye'' #1174, 19 December 2006. The articles regularly quoted Fayed with the newspaper describing its campaign as "Our relentless crusade for the truth". In 2006 and 2007, these front-page stories consistently appeared on Mondays, and ended only when the paper focused instead on the
Madeleine McCann Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person who disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007, at the age of 3. ''The Daily Telegraph'' described the disappeara ...
story (see below). Even on 7 July 2006, the anniversary of the
London bombings London attack may refer to any of the following attacks that have occurred within London, London metropolitan area, City of London, Lundenwic, Londinium, or County of London: ;Actuated attacks * List of terrorist incidents in London ** 1973 Old Ba ...
(used by most other newspapers to publish commemorations) the front page was given over to Diana. This tendency was also mocked on '' Have I Got News for You'' when on 6 November 2006, the day other papers reported the death sentence given to
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
on their front pages, the ''Express'' led with "SPIES COVER UP DIANA 'MURDER'". According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' "The Diana stories appear on Mondays because Sunday is often a quiet day." In February and March 2010, the paper returned to featuring Diana stories on the front page on Mondays. In September 2013, following an allegation raised by the estranged wife of an SAS operative, the ''Daily Express'' returned to running daily Princess Diana cover stories.


Madeleine McCann

In the second half of 2007 the ''Daily Express'' gave a large coverage to the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person who disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007, at the age of 3. '' The Daily Telegraph'' described the disappear ...
. From 3 August 2007 to 10 November 2007, the ''Express'' dedicated at least part of the next 100 front pages to her. Of those, 82 used the headline to feature the details of the disappearance (often stylised by "MADELEINE" in red block capitals, plus a picture of the child). Though the family initially said some journalists may have "overstepped their mark" they acknowledged the benefits in keeping the case in the public eye, but said coverage needed to be toned down since daily headlines were not necessarily helpful. In March 2008, the McCanns launched a libel suit against the ''Daily Express'' and the '' Daily Star'', as well as their Sunday equivalents, following their coverage. The action concerned more than 100 stories across the four newspapers, which accused the McCanns of causing and covering up their daughter's death. Express Newspapers pulled all references to Madeleine from its websites. In a settlement at the
High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...
, the newspapers ran a front-page apology to the McCanns on 19 March 2008, another apology on the front of the Sunday editions of 23 March and a statement of apology at the High Court. The newspapers also agreed to pay costs and damages, which the McCanns said they would use to fund the search for their daughter. ''Guardian'' media commentator
Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...
said it was "unprecedented" for four major newspapers to offer front-page apologies but also said it was more than warranted given that the papers had committed "a substantial libel" that shamed the British press.
Craig Silverman Craig Silverman is a Canadian journalist and a reporter at ProPublica. He was previously the media editor of BuzzFeed and the head of BuzzFeed's Canadian division. Known as an expert in "fake news", he founded the "Regret the Error" blog in 2004 ...
of ''Regret the Error'', a blog that reports media errors, argued that given how many of the stories appeared on the front page, anything less than a front-page apology would have been "unacceptable." In its apology, the ''Express'' said "a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up. We acknowledge that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance." This was followed in October by an apology and payout (forwarded to the fund again) to a group who had become known as the " Tapas Seven" in relation to the case.


Accusations of xenophobia and hate speech

In 2013, the paper launched a "crusade" against new
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
rules on migrants from Bulgaria and Romania, inviting readers to sign a petition against lifting restrictions on immigration. The front page on Thursday 31 October declared: "Britain is full and fed up. Today join your ''Daily Express'' Crusade to stop new flood of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants". The Aberystwyth University Student Union announced a ban on the sale of the paper. This ban was overturned in March 2016, following a student vote.
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...
Leader
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...
declared that he had signed the "Crusade" petition, and urged others to do the same. Romanian politician
Cătălin Ivan Cătălin Sorin Ivan (born 23 December 1978) is a Romanian politician, who since the 2009 election has been a Member of the European Parliament for Romania, representing the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Until 2015 he was the Leader of the Roma ...
expressed "outrage" at the campaign. 150,000 people signed the petition. In a statement released by The
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
(OHCHR) on 24 April 2015, the tabloid's name was mentioned in an accusation of producing hate speech, initially referring to an article in ''The Sun'': "...To give just one glimpse of the scale of the problem, back in 2003 the ''Daily Express'' ran 22 negative front pages stories about asylum seekers and refugees in a single 31-day period" ... "..the High Commissioner noted that Article 20 of the
ICCPR The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...
, as well as elements relating to hate speech in the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third -generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discri ...
* (both of which have been ratified by the U.K., as well as by all other EU countries), were rooted in the desire to outlaw the type of anti-Semitic and other racially based hate speech used by the Nazi media during the 1930s". Appearing in April 2018 before
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
's Home Affairs Select Committee, which was investigating the treatment of minority groups in print media, ''Daily Express'' editor Gary Jones said that he would be looking to change the tone of the paper. Jones said that he had found past pages of the newspaper "downright offensive," adding that they made him feel "very uncomfortable" and contributed to an "
Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
sentiment" in the media.


Editors


''Daily Express''

* Sir Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet, Arthur Pearson (April 1900 – 1901) * Bertram Fletcher Robinson (July 1900 – May 1904) * R. D. Blumenfeld (1902 – 1929) * Beverley Baxter (1929 – October 1933) * Arthur Christiansen (1933 – August 1957) * Edward Pickering (editor), Edward Pickering (1957–1961) * Robert Edwards (journalist), Robert Edwards (acting) (November 1961 – February 1962) * Roger Wood (editor), Roger Wood (1962 – May 1963) * Robert Edwards (journalist), Robert Edwards (1963 – July 1965) * Derek Marks (1965 – April 1971) * Ian McColl (journalist), Ian McColl (1971 – October 1974) * Alastair Burnet (1974 – March 1976) * Roy Wright (journalist), Roy Wright (1976 – August 1977) * Derek Jameson (1977 – June 1980) * Arthur Firth (1980 – October 1981) * Christopher Ward (editor), Christopher Ward (1981 – April 1983) * Larry Lamb (newspaper editor), Sir Larry Lamb (1983 – April 1986) * Nicholas Lloyd, Sir Nicholas Lloyd (1986 – November 1995) * Richard Addis (November 1995 – May 1998) *
Rosie Boycott Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist and feminist. Early life The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born in Saint Helier, Jersey. S ...
(May 1998 – January 2001) * Chris Williams (journalist), Chris Williams (January 2001 – December 2003) * Peter Hill (journalist), Peter Hill (December 2003 – February 2011) *
Hugh Whittow Hugh Whittow is a British former newspaper editor. Whittow worked for the ''Western Telegraph'' and the ''South Wales Echo'', before moving to London to work on the '' London Evening News'', and then the '' Daily Star''. In the mid-1980s, he j ...
(2011 – March 2018) * Gary Jones (2018 – present)


''Sunday Express''

:1920: James Douglas (journalist), James Douglas :1928: James Douglas and John Gordon (journalist), John Gordon :1931: John Gordon :1952: Harold Keeble :1954: John Junor :1986: Robin Esser :1989: Robin Morgan (journalist), Robin Morgan :1991: Eve Pollard :1994: Brian Hitchen :1995: Sue Douglas :1996: Richard Addis :1998: Amanda Platell :1999: Michael Pilgrim (journalist), Michael Pilgrim :2001: Martin Townsend (journalist), Martin Townsend :2018: Michael Booker


Notable columnists and staff


Current

* Jasmine Birtles, has a daily column and writes regularly for the Independent. * Vanessa Feltz, is a Columnist and journalist. * Frederick Forsyth, is an English novelist, journalist and political commentator. * Adam Helliker, journalist and columnist. * Lucy Johnston, journalist and health editor. * Leo McKinstry, journalist, historian and author. * Ross Clark (journalist), Ross Clark, journalist and author. * Richard and Judy, (Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan), columnists. * Ann Widdecombe, Writer. * Dean Dunham, The consumer law columnist.


Past

* Henry Vollam Morton, H.V. Morton, journalist and travel writer * J.B. Morton, better known as ''Beachcomber (pen name), Beachcomber'' * Basil Cardew * Sefton Delmer * George Eric Rowe Gedye, G. E. R. Gedye * William Hickey (columnist), William Hickey *
Peter Hitchens Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951) is an English author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for '' The Mail on Sunday'' and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Peter Hitchens ...
* Sheila Hutchins, cookery editor * Andrew Marr * Jenni Murray * Dyke White, Charles Gordon McClure (1885–1933), also known as Dyke White, cartoonist * Veronica Papworth * Yvonne Ridley * Jean Rook * Michael Watts (journalist), Michael Watts ('Inspector Watts') * Dame Barbara Cartland


Political allegiance

With the exception of the 2001 United Kingdom general election, 2001 general election when it backed the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and the 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 general election when it backed the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
, the newspaper has declared its support for the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
at every general election since World War II. In 2011, when the newspaper first endorsed the UKIP, it became one of the first media outlets in the United Kingdom to demand a Brexit, withdrawal from the European Union.


"Crusade for Freedom"

This was the newspaper's own campaign to give the people of the United Kingdom the opportunity to add their names to a petition addressed to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in favour of Britain's withdrawal from the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
. Each edition of the 8 January 2011 issue had four cut-out vouchers where readers could sign the pledge and send them to the paper's HQ where the petition was being compiled; there were also further editions with the same voucher included. The campaign attracted the support of many celebrities including sportsman/TV personality Sir Ian Botham and Chairman of J D Wetherspoon Tim Martin (businessman), Tim Martin"Euro red tape is strangling UK enterprise", ''Daily Express'', page 69, 8 January 2011. who both gave interviews for 8 January's special edition of the paper. The first week of the campaign saw a response of around 370,000 signatures being received (just over 50% of daily readership or around 0.6% of the UK population).


"Digital edition"

In 2022 like in 2005, 2011 and 2016 there will be digital only Christmas Day edition of the paper online.


See also

* Right-wing populism * ''Scottish Daily News''


Notes


References


External links

* * Derek Jameson
"Matthews, Victor Collin, Baron Matthews (1919–1995)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 9 September 2007 {{Authority control Daily Express, 1900 establishments in England Conservative media in the United Kingdom Daily newspapers published in the United Kingdom Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom National newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers published in London Northern & Shell Newspapers established in 1900 Reach plc Right-wing populism in the United Kingdom Supermarket tabloids