The Audit Bureau of Circulations' today refused to confirm or deny that it was conducting a review of its rules which could bring the controversial practice of national newspaper bulk sales to an end.
ABC was reported to be conducting a review, as one national publisher, Mirror Group Newspapers, announced it was scrapping the policy of bulks at the end of this month.
Other publishers are believed to be less keen to do away with bulks, which add roughly 750,000 to the total average circulation of newspapers in the UK.
A spokeswoman for ABC said: "As a matter of policy ABC does not respond to speculation about reviews which may or may not be taking place or comment publicly until they have been completed. A number of key areas concerning circulating reporting are reviewed on a regular basis by ABC and industry representatives."
