Having followed the Evening Standard for many years by reading all its editions for the last 15 years it truly is a worrying trend that the owners of the paper have decided to sell to a former KGB agent.

Despite a PR offensive by people close to Mr Lebedev to allay fears, the fact remains that the Evening Standard's pre-eminent position in London has gone and it no longer sets the news agenda.  Its circulation has plummeted to 173,000 paid sales per day and its advertising revenues like all newspapers have dropped.

The fact that the Daily Mail today did not even mention the deal in its pages today, highlights the fact that many within DMGT are very unhappy with the deal with one insider telling the London Daily News "we have seen this once great newspaper decimated and now we are being sold to an ex-KGB agent, you couldn’t make it up it".

The rumours are now well known within the newspaper industry that the Standard will follow other newspaper groups with staff cuts and "efficiencies" in areas.  

The biggest concern is that this acquisition comes at a time when the large media groups in London are all cutting back resources and this will impact on the level of coverage for the capital.  How is it possible that a capital city the size of London does not have a rolling 24 hour station on television, radio, internet covering the news, politics of the capital?

Instead we have this stupid situation of free newspapers being read on the tube, thrown away by commuters, losing millions of pounds for the owners and damaging the established revenue streams of the established weeklies and regional papers.

Its time London started asking more from itself and demanding more from its media. 

The Evening Standard was the leading name in London media, this is no longer the case and it is now time for a new reality to dawn in the capital.