Daily Express
The Daily Express is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper[4] printed in tabloid format. Published in London, 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. Its sister paper, the Sunday Express, was launched in 1918. In June 2022, it had an average daily circulation of 201,608.[5]
For other uses, see Daily Express (disambiguation).Type
Under the ownership of Lord Beaverbrook, the Express rose to become the newspaper with the largest circulation in the world, going from 2 million in the 1930s to 4 million in the 1940s.[6] It was acquired by Richard Desmond's company Northern & Shell in 2000. Hugh Whittow 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.[7][8] Hugh Whittow resigned as editor and Gary Jones took over as editor-in-chief soon after the purchase.[9]
The paper's editorial stances have often been seen as aligned to Euroscepticism and supportive of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and other right-wing factions including the European Research Group (ERG) of the Conservative Party.[10][11]
Controversies[edit]
John Bodkin Adams[edit]
Suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams was arrested in 1956, accused of murdering up to 400 wealthy patients in Eastbourne.[63] The press, "egged on by police leaks, unanimously declared Adams guilty," except for Percy Hoskins, chief crime reporter for the Express.[64] Hoskins was adamant that Adams was a naive doctor prosecuted by an overzealous detective, Herbert Hannam, whom Hoskins disliked from previous cases.[64] The Express, under Hoskins's direction, was the only major paper to defend Adams, causing Lord Beaverbrook to question Hoskins's stance.[64]
Adams was cleared in 1957 of the murder of Edith Alice Morrell (a second count was withdrawn controversially). After the case, Beaverbrook phoned Hoskins and said: "Two people were acquitted today", meaning Hoskins as well.[64] 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.[63]
