By Dominic Ponsford
A complex spoofing operation helped the Sunday Mirror boost sales by
an estimated 40,000 on Sunday with its exclusive that actor Jude Law
had an affair with his children’s nanny.
The first 8,000 copies of the paper, for London street sales and
export, featured stories about the London bombers on pages 1, 4, 5, 6
and 7; David Beckham’s father’s book on 8 and 9 and a story about the
TV show Casualty on page 3.
The full seven pages of kiss-and-tell from nanny Daisy Wright were then swapped in place for the main print run.
Related
The
spoof was complicated by the fact that a CCTV picture of the four
London bombers at Luton railway station, used on the front of most
other nationals, only arrived at 5.40pm – about half an hour before the
Sunday Mirror’s first edition deadline.
Editor Tina Weaver said:
“They [Jude Law and Sienna Miller] are the hottest showbiz couple
around, it was one of those jaw-dropping moments when I heard. And he
didn’t just have an affair, but an affair with his own kids’
nanny. Nice guy.
“It was an especially satisfying story
because we are often being threatened with legal action from stars, the
selfrighteous Jude Law included.”
Law issued a statement to the
Press Association on Sunday, saying: “I am deeply ashamed and upset
that I’ve hurt Sienna and the people most close to us.
“I want to
publicly apologise to Sienna and our respective families for the pain
that I have caused. There is no defence for my actions, which I
sincerely regret, and I ask that you respect our privacy at this very
difficult time.”
The story was widely followed up throughout the
national press this week. With the Sunday Mirror looking after the
nanny at a secret location abroad, more revelations have been promised
by the paper on Sunday.
The Sunday Mirror outperformed the rest
of the popular Sunday newspaper market in the June circulation figures,
dropping 2.56 per cent year-on-year to 1,485,485, compared with an
average fall in the sector of 5.4 per cent.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
