The Daily Star saw the largest recovery from the slump in newspaper circulation figures since the Covid-19 lockdown, June’s UK national newspaper ABCs reveal.

Newspaper circulation grew slightly for paid-for titles with increases of up to three per cent on May’s figures, with the Daily Star growing its average daily circulation by five per cent month-on-month to 223,727.

The UK’s biggest selling national newspaper the Daily Mail saw circulation rise by two per cent month-on-month to just shy of one million copies (999,976) as lockdown measures began to ease in June. However, year-on-year the Mail saw a 15 per cent decline in ABC circulation from June 2019.

Free newspapers have once again increased distribution with the Evening Standard taking circulation up by eight per cent to 489,154 – although this figure is almost half that of June 2019.

The Telegraph and News UK titles The Sun and Times have withdrawn from ABC auditing, with the Telegraph citing a focus on its subscription numbers rather than circulation.

The Telegraph has gained 7,107 net new subscriptions in June (a total of 500,923 subscriptions), according to reports by Press Gazette.

Read the full figures here.