Murdoch Shuts Down News of the World Following Scandal

July 6: News of the World sign is seen by an entrance at premises of News International in London. (AP)

This Sunday's News Of The World will be the last ever issue of the tabloid, News International chairman James Murdoch has announced.

He said the 168-year-old newspaper and Britain's largest selling tabloid would not run any commercial advertisements this weekend, adding the advertising space would be donated to causes and charities. News Corp., which owns the Fox News Channel, also owns the U.K. paper.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid is accused of hacking into the cell phone messages of victims ranging from missing schoolgirls to grieving families, celebrities, royals and politicians in a quest for attention-grabbing headlines. Police say they are examining 4,000 names of people who may have been targeted by the paper.

The News of the World, which sells close to 3 million copies a week, has acknowledged that it hacked into the mobile phone voice mails of politicians, celebrities and royal aides. A reporter and a private investigator working for the paper were jailed for phone hacking in 2007.

But in recent days the allegations have expanded to take in the phones of missing children who were found slain, the relatives of terrorist victims and families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

"The good things the News Of The World does, however, have been sullied by behavior that was wrong," Murdoch said.

"Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company."

"The News Of The World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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