The Newspaper Publishers Association has said that the BBC's decision to launch smartphone apps will have a ‘significant and negative’ impact upon the commercial media sector.

Speaking to the The Drum, David Newell, director of the NPA, said that the organisation was disappointed with the BBC Trust’s decision to green light  apps for news and sport content.

He said that the BBC was pushing through the development quickly in order to avoid facing a public value test.

And noted the BBC's policy that "where actual or potential market impact outweighs public value, the BBC should leave space clear for others" and that "it must listen to legitimate concerns from commercial media players more carefully than it has in the past".

Newell said: “The launch of BBC mobile apps represents a significant change to the BBC Online service and we believe it will have a significant and negative market impact upon the viability of the business models of commercial news organisations in the app market.”

His concerns follow Michael Johnston, president of the Scottish Newspaper Society’s angry reaction to the announcement on Friday.

Johnston questioned the BBC’s decision to move into a space already occupied by commercial media companies and also the news reporting strategy of BBC Scotland, which he claimed relied on covering stories being investigated and reported on by commercial rivals.