Shephard, after the comedian Jim Davidson - a friend of Desmond - had intervened on his behalf with the paper's owner. That story eventually appeared weeks later.
The suppression of a story about the public relations guru, Matthew Freud, because Freud had a contractual veto over the use of an interview with Geri Halliwell which Desmond had bought for his OK! magazine and the Daily Express .
The suppression of a story about reported complaints over the construction of a new home by the builders, Alfred McAlpine, because it would supposedly cost the paper £160,000 in advertising.
Management orders to journalists to seek out and run damaging stories about Conrad Black, owner of the Daily Telegraph - who is locked in a printing dispute with Desmond - and about the magazine group EMAP.
The spiking on Desmond's insistence of a business story which detailed consumer complaints about Sky television's Open digital subsidiary and its replacement by a story praising Sky and criticising its competitor, OnDigital. The Sunday Express 's City editor has subsequently resigned, blaming management interference.
Pilgrim says this kind of activity 'harms my reputation, harms the newspaper's reputation and eventually harms your reputation'. When Desmond's Northern and Shell company took over the Express Group last November, he was told that 'editors edit'. Now the situation is 'very different'.
Pilgrim, who was formally appointed editor only three months ago, yesterday refused to comment on the leak of his memo. Paul Ashford, the editorial director appointed by Desmond, declined a request to be interviewed.
Brian McCloren, Desmond's public relations spokesman, said: 'It very clearly remains group philosophy that our editors edit.' McCloren was not aware that any of them had raised such problems with the editorial board set up to safeguard their independence.
Pilgrim's stand will come at a difficult time for Desmond. On the one hand, sales of the Sunday Express climbed over the million-mark again in April after a re-design supervised by the editor; on the other hand, National Union of Journalists members at the Express have voted for strike action unless job cuts - set at 145 writers and editors - are rescinded.
Desmond plans expansion by launching a Sunday version of the Daily Star within two months. There are rumours that the expansion will be part-funded by Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, but these have been denied.
Sunday Express journalists who have watched Pilgrim and his deputy, Paul Dunn, negotiate with management will regard his warning to Desmond as a last desperate plea for autonomy.
'I do not write this note to rock the boat,' the editor tells his proprietor. 'Rather I write it because I want the paper to be a success. We are in danger of throwing away investment and a huge amount of effort.'
