The Sun on Sunday - A bit of a damp squib

I have to confess I was a little disappointed today with The Sun - as it appears to be called rather than having the "on Sunday" tagged on. Apart from reading like a weekday edition, I felt it was tamer. I know that the weekend papers have to be a bit more circumspect as they believe the whole family sees the paper at the weekend. Hence no nipples on page 3 on Saturday or Sunday.

But the delivering five pages on Amanda Holden delivering (if get my meaning) was too much. I was expecting something a bit grittier, sexier, more gossipy...more of a big news-breaking scoop.

But then the Sunday Mirror and The People were not much better splashing with Kerry Katona to marry again and soccer legend Jimmy Greave having a stroke. The best tabloid front page was The Star on Sunday who told us that Charles and Camilla and living separate lives. Don't know how true it is but it certainly grabbed my eye at the newsagent.

Is this why Chris Bryant is so keen to control Britain's free press?

The MP for Rhondda Chris Bryant said last week on BBC Radio that he didn't think The Sun on Sunday would sell.

He said: "Last week NI said it was “draining the swamp”. What creature will come forth from the swamp that we would want to see on our streets?"

Ever wondered why Bryant is so keen to control and the press? Could it be because the press exposed his claim for £92,000 expenses in the five years leading up to 2009.

During that time he flipped his second-home expenses twice, claimed mortgage interest expenses that started at £7,800 per year before rising (after flipping) to £12,000 per year. He also claimed £6,400 in stamp duty and other fees on his most recent purchase, and £6,000 per year in service charges. A claim that he made for £58,493.26, almost three times the annual maximum, in 2004, was disallowed.

In 2003 he was ridiculed
when a picture (right) of him in his underpants that appeared on a gay dating website appeared in the papers.

And The Guardian lampooned him in 2006 when they published a spoof diary that led readers to think Bryant wrote himself. The newspaper later printed a clarification that the piece was a parody.

So maybe not the best person to take an objective view of the press?

You gotta love The Sun

You gotta love The Sun. Despite all its trials and tribulations of late, (Actually, there haven't been any trials yet.) it still manages to make me smile with its headlines.

Today Britain's biggest selling paper carries a story about the couple from the Midlands who scooped £45m in the EuroMillions lottery.

Matt Topham and finacee Cassey Carrington have bought a tent for this summer's V Festival. So instead of staying in plush luxury, the couple want to rough it camping. The price these multi-millionaires paid for their tent? £39.99.

What else could the sub do but write this headline: "Now is the winter of our discount tents." Lovely!