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Newspaper smashes sales record after reprinting secret report

A daily newspaper has achieved a sales record after reprinting a 45-year-old dossier it first published last year.

The National more than doubled its average daily sale, selling 21,915 copies, after running a special edition on the McCrone Report on 27 February.

On the same day last year the pro-Scottish independence daily, run by Newsquest, became the first newspaper to print in full the secret report, which was written in 1974 and gave a favourable projection for an independent Scotland’s economy.

However it was never published at the time and only came to light in 2005 as a result of a freedom of information request.

National McCrone

The National subsequently dubbed 27 February ‘McCrone Day’ after recording a 41pc print sales increase on the day it published the report in full in 2019.

This year, the ‘McCrone Day’ edition, pictured above, was made available for pre-order, with 8,000 copies being sold before it hit newsstands.

Its front page encouraged readers to “buy an extra copy and make sure it gets into the hands of a No voter”.

The report was published in full across eight pages and was accompanied by exclusive subscription offers to encourage readers to sign up to the Glasgow-based daily.

Editor Callum Baird said: “With a second independence referendum just around the corner, we believe it’s crucial that as many Scots as possible have the information they need to make an informed choice.

“That means we want people to know how the chance of becoming one of the richest countries in the world was cruelly snatched away from Scotland – and the huge wealth of the North Sea squandered.

“Our readers have responded incredibly to this latest campaign – and there will be many more like this to come.”