Richard Desmond, cleaning up his act before bidding for the Torygraph, has sold all of his ‘top shelf’ magazines. These include such bastions of good taste as Big Ones.

“It’s a nice thing for the staff. They have been working for a company that was not interested in the magazines. They now have owners who have put the money up and will do a good job,” he said last night.

He went on to say they were getting a bit ragged and sticky and he couldn’t keep hiding them in the garden shed because the wife might find them.