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The tabloid publication, which publishes on weekdays alongside the broadsheet, rolled out in Greater London at the end of September. It is also being published in the North West and in the South.

The Independent is the only daily broadsheet to have posted a significant rise in the newspaper ABCs for October, with its rivals posting flat month-on-month figures, apart from the Daily Telegraph, which was down 2.61% to 914,169.

The Independent on Sunday has not had the same success as its sister daily, however, falling 0.24% on last month, a hefty 7.71% drop year on year to 210,715.

Among the Sunday broadsheets, only The Business appeared to be doing well, up 18.63% to 246,068 as its deal with Associated Newspapers to be distributed with the Mail on Sunday continues to boost figures.

Its rivals posted flat results month on month, with the Sunday Telegraph posting a dramatic 9.78% fall over the year to 714,210. The Observer fell 3.16% to 473,294 over the same period.

The only success story among the tabloids last month was Richard Desmond's Daily Star Sunday. The newest entrant into the Sunday market is continuing to close the gap on its tabloid rivals, adding 80,000 readers over the last month, taking its total to 603,792. This is a rise of 16.29% month on month and a 15.72% rise over the last year.

The figures provided a bright spot in an otherwise bleak set of ABC figures for the Desmond stable. The Daily Express slumped 7.17% from last month to 944,473, taking it back under the golden 1m mark, while arch rival the Daily Mail slipped just 0.27% on last month to 2,473,965.

Associated Newspaper's other daily, the Evening Standard in London, was back over the 400,000 mark with a 5.47% rise month on month to 421,465. However, this was down 4.02% on October 2003.

The Sunday Express suffered a similar fate to its daily sister titles. It was down 4.87% on September to 926,107, while the Mail on Sunday rose 2.07% over the same period to 2,400,889.

Among the rest of the Sunday tabloids, the News of the World passed the 4m mark with a 2.49% rise month on month to 4,035,732, while the Sunday Mirror managed a 0.81% rise to 1,628,441 and sister paper The People rose 0.93% to 1,112,021.

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