Bushell sacked from 'The Sun' over book serialisation in rival tabloid

The Sun's controversial right-wing columnist, Garry Bushell, has been sacked after 16 years at the paper because a rival tabloid serialised his new novel.

A letter of dismissal was sent by courier to Mr Bushell's home in Kent late on Friday night, at the end of a fortnight of bitter recriminations over the publishing deal.

Mr Bushell, 46, who was the television critic, believed The Sun had promised to serialise The Face. It had serialised To Hell in a Handcart, a novel by his fellow Sun columnist Richard Littlejohn. But when the newspaper allegedly backtracked on the arrangement, Mr Bushell's publisher, John Blake, a former Sun writer, allowed the rights to go to the Daily Star.

Neither side was willing to discuss the dispute yesterday. But friends of Mr Bushell said he was shocked by the sacking and would appeal. "He thinks the decision is grossly unfair and intends to fight to be reinstated," one said.

It is understood that News International, publisher of The Sun, believes Mr Bushell did not act in good faith and was in breach of his contract by writing the novel without permission.

But it was the serialisation in the Daily Star that caused the real problems. David Yelland, The Sun's editor, was furious to discover the Daily Star was publishing extracts of the novel with a front-page billing of "The raunchy book The Sun didn't dare publish".

Mr Bushell was suspended and escorted from the News International headquarters in Wapping, east London. He protested that he knew nothing of the Star deal, which had been brokered by Mr Blake. But he may not have helped his position with comments he was reported to have made describing The Sun under its current editor as a "sleepy hollow".

Mr Blake, a former showbiz editor who has published several books by the newspaper's staff, said the sacking seemed incredibly unfair.

"I asked The Sun repeatedly in writing and in person if they wanted to serialise the book and I never got a response," he said. "They didn't say to me that they didn't want it, but their attitude in retrospect seems to have been that nobody else could have it either. Their reaction seems to be anger at being made to look stupid by turning down a very good property."

Mr Bushell's book, about an old-school policeman ill at ease with a new, liberal force, is now on its third reprint. It has sold about 20,000 copies.