Trinity Mirror Midlands recently axed nine free titles across its patch with the loss of 17 journalists' jobs.

But in an interview with Press Gazette published today, Mr Bullivant claims he could have saved some of the jobs if Trinity had agreed to sell four of the titles to him.

Mr Bullivant said he had entered negotiations with Trinity to buy four of the papers – the Lichfield Post, Tamworth Times, Burton Trader, and Walsall Observer.

The publisher, whose own Observer Standard group recently came out of administration, revealed in his interview that he was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement with TM while discussions took place.

However, it is understood that negotiations broke down shortly after this point.

A Trinity Mirror spokesman said today: "As a publisher Mr Bullivant should be ashamed by the way he is misleading the press.

"The fact that he now wishes to have discussions in public demonstrates precisely why we would be cautious in dealing with a man whose own companies recently went into administration."

Mr Bullivant said in his interview: "At least one and maybe all of these newspapers could have been saved in my organisation as I don't have the overheads that Trinity Mirror does.

"I would have loved any of them but in the middle of negotiations they decided to close the things," he added.

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