Sacked Mail on Sunday diary editor Adam Helliker has been taken on by rival title the Sunday Express to do the same job.
Helliker left the MoS in July in a row over an address book which had belonged to the Princess of Wales and which he had been involved in selling to a US dealer for £25,000.
Helliker was dismissed for gross misconduct, which was said to have included failing to inform the editor of an important story and lying to the editor. He had started legal proceedings but this week said the matter had been settled and that “we’ve both agreed to move on”.
He said: “After things settled down it was time to get back to doing what I do best. I got on well with Mr Desmond and Martin Townsend and I liked their suggestions.”
The new column will, he said, be a mix of society, celebrities and Royal stories: “As if you were standing in the middle of a very good cocktail party.”
By Dominic Ponsford
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