LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 Daily Express editor Rosie Boycott is believed to be in negotiations with her new employers Northern & Shell which could see her leave the group in the next couple of weeks.
Boycott is understood to be keen to reach a settlement with the company鈥檚 porn tycoon chairman Richard Desmond, after the pair failed to agree on a number of issues including staffing levels and editorial content.
Shortly before Christmas, Desmond is said to have asked Boycott for a 鈥渞edundancy list鈥 from her editorial team. Desmond is thought to believe the paper鈥檚 editorial team is too heavily staffed compared with other newspapers he has studied. Boycott is thought to have refused to supply the list.
However, Boycott is not currently in favour with her staff after a memo she wrote to Desmond was leaked to the press. The memo attacked Desmond鈥檚 heavy-handed staffing measures and named several members of Express staff who were to be made redundant by Desmond. Included among those named was a pregnant woman and a disabled member of staff who had been promised life-long employment by his former employers.
Boycott鈥檚 departure would throw the paper鈥檚 political stance into doubt. Under Labour peer Lord Hollick, chairman of the newspaper鈥檚 previous owner United News & Media, Boycott took the paper to the left. Politically, it had previously been a conservative paper.
Boycott鈥檚 contract, which has around 12 months to run, could be worth up to £300,000 a year.
Northern & Shell, which owns OK! magazine, a host of porn titles and an adult TV channel, acquired the Express Newspaper Group for £125m in November from United News & Media.