Richard Desmond has the dubious distinction of being the first newspaper proprietor to be pitched out of the Newspaper Publishers Association. The formality of today's official announcement, that the NPA's council has decided "to terminate Express Newspapers' membership of the NPA" conceals a lengthy dispute between the council and Desmond.
He has been, in effect, a serial offender by refusing to pay invoices that amount, I understand, to something like £500,000 in total. He refused to pay because he wants to cherrypick the NPA's services and pay only for those bits he deems as worthwhile.
I imagine Desmond doesn't care too much out the exclusion because he seems to revel in his maverick status. Since he arrived at the Express in 2000, he has made a habit of insulting people, including several rivals - not least Lord Rothermere and Murdoch MacLennan - and, infamously, many of of his employees. Desmond, the pornographer who is always claiming to have cleaned up his act, hasn't really changed at all. And he clearly enjoys sticking two fingers up to the Fleet Street establishment.
But his exclusion from the NPA could, in fact, prove to be a crisis for the whole industry. It probably doesn't matter to him too much if the reporters at the Daily and Sunday Express and his two Star titles fail to get their press passes for major events, such as royal tours.
It may not even matter to him if the Newspaper Marketing Agency fails to allocate him advertising. And, quite plausibly, he may not give a damn about paying his subscriptions to Pressbof, the funding body for the Press Complaints Commission.
But the implications of the Express group failing to play a full part in self-regulation are very worrying indeed. Could it even mean that the Daily Express editor Peter Hill might be required to leave his post as a PCC commissioner?
Could it mean a substantial hole in the body that for the past 16 years has gradually managed to get a grip on the newspaper and magazine content and journalistic methodology? That's one of the real concerns for everyone.
The maverick Desmond is a genuine problem for us all. He must be brought to heel.
