The last edition of one of the largest tabloids in Western Europe – News of the World, was published late Saturday and distributed Sunday.

This was the 8 674 edition in the 168-year-old history of the tabloid. The decision to close it was made by its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over the scandal with the wiretapping of cell phones of thousands of Brits.

Murdoch said on Saturday it had been "a collective decision" to close the paper, which he admitted had "let down its readers".

In the last week Great Britain has been outraged by revelations the publication has paid for access to the cell phones of relatives and friends of murder and terrorist attacks victims and of servicemen killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The front page of the last edition of the News of the World declared: "Thank you & goodbye."

After leaving with the 200 staff, Editor-in-Chief, Colin Myler, said: "This is not where we want to be and not where we deserve to be."

During a short speech outside the paper's offices in Wapping, East London, late Saturday night Myler held up the final edition of the Sunday newspaper, saying: "As a final tribute to seven-and-a-half million readers, this is for you - and for the staff, thank you."

He added: "Now, in the best traditions of Fleet Street, we are going to the pub."

In a full-page editorial inside the News of the World (NoW), the paper offers an apology with the words: "Quite simply, we lost our way."

Rupert Murdoch is due to arrive in the UK to take charge of handling the phone hacking crisis.

The NoW has doubled Sunday's print run to five million, with money from the sales being donated to four charities.

The Labor Party is calling for an immediate start to the judicial phone-hacking inquiry so evidence will not be lost as the News of the World closes.

The government has announced two independent inquiries into the scandal, firstly a judge-led probe into the activities of the NoW and other papers, and the failure of the original police investigation from 2005 into phone hacking.

The second inquiry will examine the ethics and culture of the press.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking police officer is quoted stating the illegal hacking of voice mail has been the usual practice of NoW, and they have been concealed by top company managers.

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