Although it is behind in circulation, London Lite is ahead of rival thelondonpaper on readership, according to a readership survey released Thursday.

London Lite, owned by Associated Newspapers, is read by about 740,000 people each day, while News International's thelondonpaper is behind at 713,000, according to the National Readership Survey.

However, Associated Newspapers and News International have argued over the survey's accuracy, Press Gazette reported.

The survey, which included the two free dailies for the first time, also reported readership for free national title Metro is up 31 percent from last year, to about 2.35 million readers each day. The Evening Standard's readership is down 12 percent year-on-year, to about 720,000 readers a day, the survey stated.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Standard pointed out the survey has also shown a period-on-period rise between January to June this year, and a 4.4 percent increase compared to the six months prior.

Steve Auckland, managing director of free newspapers at Associated Newspapers said his group is “very pleased” with the survey's readership estimates. Thelondonpaper's general manager, Ian Clark, questioned the validity of the survey's figures, pointing out the survey's administrators interviewed “only 231 readers of thelondonpaper” when compiling data, according to Press Gazette.