Journalist Lynn Barber tells Richard Fitzpatrick why interviewers shouldn’t be afraid to look stupid and how she asked Jimmy Savile ‘that question’

THE announcement that the News of the World will close after this weekend was greeted with shock and amazement by journalists at News International.

The “decline in the conduct” of the British Press Awards has led a number of national newspaper editors to announce that they are withdrawing their support for the annual event.

The London Independent, which launched a tabloid version last September, has recorded average daily ABC circulation for March 2004 of 258,012.