New Sun editor David Dinsmore has called campaigners demanding that the paper axe the use of topless models on Page Three “a vocal minority”.

In an exclusive interview with Press Gazette, Dinsmore said Page Three was “one of the pillars of the paper” and re-iterated his desire to keep it.

He said: “I am aware of people who don’t like it, but I know they are a vocal minority, and among our readership they are a tiny minority. The vast majority either love it or are ambivalent.