NORTH LONDON AND HERTS NEWSPAPER GROUP

That this House applauds the stand taken by journalists at the North London and Herts newspaper group in defence of quality newspapers; notes that over the last two years more than half of the newsdesk have left the newspapers without new staff being appointed; further notes that there are now only two reporters covering nine newspapers; believes that journalists are therefore unable to cover important stories in depth, are unable to cover community or political events, council meetings and court cases; believes that this runs contrary to the Tindle Newspapers Ltd's local newspaper philosophy; further notes that the group's proprietor Sir Ray Tindle has a personal fortune of 149 million and that the parent company made 8.6 million profit two years ago; and calls on Sir Ray Tindle to meet with the National Union of Journalists in order to resolve this dispute and preserve quality newspapers for the local communities.