Media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s News International, which owns four newspapers in Britain, decided Thursday to shut down its controversial tabloid News Of The World in the midst of the growing phone hacking crisis.
News International chairman James Murdoch said this coming Sunday’s paper will be the tabloid’s last-ever issue. It will not run any commercial advertisements this weekend and the advertising space would be donated to causes and charities. He did not clarify what would happen to the 168-year-old newspaper’s staff.
The surprise announcement came as the phone hacking crisis escalated Thursday with claims that the phones of families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were allegedly hacked. Prime Minister David Cameron has faced heavy criticism over his ties with the Murdochs and his reluctance to order a public inquiry into the issue immediately.