The simmering talk of a merger between Scotland’s two best known national broadsheets, The Scotsman and The Herald, came to the boil again in May with the news that further redundancies were being sought at the Glasgow end of the M8.

Andrew Neil’s previous argument that such a merger would reduce costs for both titles was almost persuasive enough to seal the deal earlier in the century, but Scotsman MD Michael Johnston, pictured left, says he is “absolutely convinced” that such a deal would be “commercial suicide” if handled badly.