After Mr S broke the news last month that staff at the Express offices who were concerned about redundancy were to be offered a pep talk from Tom Bower on how to deal with their proprietor Richard Desmond, the offer was revoked as Bower was refused permission to enter the building.
Happily, Express staff fearing the axe will now have a fresh chance to discover the inner workings of Desmond’s mind from Bower, who has spent years working on an unauthorised biography of the media mogul. Bower, who Desmond previously launched an unsuccessful libel case against, will lead a panel of speakers for a talk on World Press Freedom day which will take place at Headland House in Holborn:
‘Tom Bower: the author of a new biography of Richard Desmond, owner of Express papers, celebrity magazines and “adult” TV channels, was banned from entering the Express’s building to speak to the NUJ chapel.
He will now be heading a panel of speakers, chaired by Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, at the NUJ’s London headquarters on Tuesday 5 May, to mark World Press Freedom Day.’
Given that the event organisers name-check Bower’s currently unpublished biography of the media mogul, Mr S suspects Desmond will be concerned that the tome – which Bower has described as ‘the most devastating story of a businessman I have ever written’ – is close to seeing the light of day.
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